Chapter 20: Cockroach (2)
The man thinks for a few seconds before responding. "... can. But .... in... for me?"
"You wanted more routes in the US and Australia right? I can make that happen. Just kill the damn bitch."
"... think about it," he says. I'm about to let out a sigh of relief but the next thing he says at a slightly higher volume freezes the air in my lungs. Looking at the elevated rooms on my side, he suggests, "Might want to clear out the roaches in here first."
Immediately I know I need to leave. G surely has already escaped from his side right after this kingpin walked in. I thought I could stay for a little longer when no one moved from their positions but surely I was wrong if he noticed me. I quietly scramble back out the window to the adjacent roof while I internally start panicking. If I get caught now, that princess is sure to torture and kill me on the spot.
Only one goon has made it to the roof so far and he lunges at me with a knife in hand. I guess raves aren't a good enough cover for them to use guns except in emergencies either. I narrowly dodge the slash but my cheek get nicked by the second blade in his left hand that I didn't notice.
"Shit," I mutter under my breath. I branish a ceramic knife and duel him for a moment. Each clash of our blades jars my arm. Fending off two blades with just one puts me at a great disadvantage and doesn't give me enough time to pull out another. Still, I somehow have enough speed to block his blows and make him take a step backward.
Seeing an opportunity, I take a step closer to kick him. I know I'm running out of time. If I can't get away, I'll be surrounded in no time at all. Trying to slow him down I aim for his left arm that has been considerably slower. He watches my blade and with a flick of his wrist, makes me stab into his arm. Trying to stay unfazed by how fearlessly he just sacrificed his arm, I kick him again. With a low sweep, I manage knock him off his feet and begin my escape. There are people coming up the stairs and at least two are really close to the top already.
The great thing about warehouse areas are the closely packed buildings with similar heights. However, that means I can get followed and spotted fairly easily too. Before I can even make it halfway across the next building over, I hear a shrill voice scream, "Get that fucking roach! I'll hang all of you fuckers if you dare to fail again!"
I continue my sprint to the end of the block when I hear a silenced bullet being shot. 'Guess I constitute an emergency to them," I mutter to myself and force my legs to pump faster fueled almost entirely by fear and adrenaline. I've always thought the name really overestimated how much sound it can actually muffle. Civilians six blocks down might not be able to hear it but I certainly can especially the impact of the bullets into metal doors and concrete supports.
At the end of the block, I make a running leap of faith and pray my legs have enough strength to propel me to the end of my escape route. Barely making it to the next building, I manage to muscle myself up and roll towards my goal. Between the panic in my lungs and the fear in my head, I remember the Plan B escape B had given me before we left. I change direction and head for the rave block.
When I get a block or so away, I drop from the roof and roll a couple times to lessen the impact on my legs. While continuing to run for the next block I yank off my gloves and release my hair from its confines, thankful for my sister's ballet lessons all those years back. I pull my mask down so I'm wearing it like a bandana around my neck and try to ignore the smell of my own blood. Then I take off my long sleeved thermal tech shirt to wrap it around my waist. I'm wearing a sports bra and not a bralette but it will have to suffice. I pull out the SIM card-less phone from one of my pockets and quickly reconfigure the remaining daggers to be able to shove them inside my bra. RIP the lost blade.
Before I even need to pull up the saved PDF of a rave ticket on the SIM cardless device, I spot G who immediately darts around the corner. By the time I catch up to him two zig-zagged blocks away, he already has the car engine running and ready to go. I jump in and I see he had a similar idea as me, G had thrown his sneak gear into the back seat and is now wearing just a grey t-shirt and jeans. How he managed to get back to the car so quickly is beyond me but it helps lessen my anxiety to know that I haven't completely lost my sense of resourcefulness.
We blend right in with the early leaving ravers and getting out of the shipyard goes without another hitch. G looks like he has plenty to say but just throws his discarded sweater at me and tells me to fix my face. It's only at this moment that I realize what I thought was a nick had actually cut decently deep into my face for almost two full inches. While running I had been ignoring the sensation but when I reach up and touch my cheek I feel the warm blood still streaming from the cut. It's not deep enough to need stitches, but enough to need a bandage and proper care for at least two weeks. That's way too long.
Chapter 21: Cockroach (3)
The quiet ride back to their apartment gives me plenty of time to think and overthink about what happened. The more I think about my entire escape the more I hate how it went down.
Out of everything that could have gone wrong, so much did actually go wrong. I knew I was essentially a washed up agent but I definitely could have and should have done better.
I keep replaying the interaction between the Insects' princess and the King of South America and realize that I don't remember anything from the picture aside from just them two. I completely forgot to pay attention to everything else that was going on around them.
Trying to recall the fight with the minion doesn't help at all either. I didn't even notice the second blade until it tore through my face. Regardless of his rank, there's no way that I should have struggled that much in hand to hand combat. Before the attack I wouldn't have flinched at getting cut. Before I wouldn't have gotten cut at all. Before I wouldn't even have gotten noticed.
The thoughts and self criticism don't end and just swirl around in my head endlessly. Every time one critique fades, another comes to blame me for how badly I have started to fail down the slippery slope.
With the car parked in the underground lot, G and I take the elevator up to their place. The bleeding had just recently stopped but the red and very angry mark had started swelling slightly. B met us at the door and immediately ushers us in and runs inside one of the rooms to grab the first aid box. Not the typical box with just alcohol pads, neosporin and band aids but a whole ass crate with full bandages, splints and even IV drips. She makes me sit on the couch and starts to clean my face up. I hiss at the sting of alcohol but stay as still as I can without flinching.
"So what did you guys find out?" B asks slowly.
"I'm a cockroach and the princess is coming for revenge," I answer. My sarcastic snip is clearly not appreciated because B proceeds to press the alcohol soaked cotton ball harder into my cut. I seethe and frown but I know it's my fault.
"King of the South showed up. Apparently the Insects' princess is out for revenge for her father that J caught some time back and she wants his help to get rid of her," G clarifies. "He noticed her and one of the minions got lucky."
I scoff. "Yeah sure, he got lucky. Like I didn't freeze up and make a shitton of noise trying to get away."
"I know you're not 100% yet but there's no way you could have fought a dual blade with just a dagger," G frowns.
"I didn't even notice he had two blades..." I confess. I'm disappointed in myself. I thought so highly of myself but I got sliced so badly in a scuffle with a meer goon.
B had been dabbing various powders on my cheek and even squeezes the cut to force a bit of blood out. Satisfied, she cleans it again with more alcohol, much to my chagrin, but I know what it's for so I don't complain. "At least they weren't poisoned. Overall, I'd say this run was a success. You got new intel and didn't even have to take a trip to the hospital."
"I don't. The King noticed me AND I froze up AND I fought a minion almost evenly. I nearly got caught and almost became a bullet bag too! The princess called me a cockroach and is trying to put the King of the South American drug ring after me!" I argue.
"When even was the last time you did field work? You did just fine, J," G calmly states. His composure just agitates my nerves more.
"I'm a depressed ass bitch of a soldier with anxiety and panic attacks! I froze up and could have just died there on my very first mission back! What if next time I start getting triggered again I actually freeze up for long enough to really get trapped or even pass out? I should have just stayed on the run or left for another country. I'm not cut out for this! I can't do this anymore! I'm just a liability and dangerous to you and everyone else by just being around!"
I'm arguing back and forth with G before B interrupts and stops us both. Logic isn't getting through my fear and G is giving nothing but logic.
"You're an agent with a heightened sense of fear! Use your anxiety to your advantage and trust your gut, J! You're not a failure because you messed up and made a mistake. That's something you have to learn from and let go of the guilt you're forcing on yourself! I know you want to live just as much as everyone else so make your fear a survival strat(1)!" B screams back. She pauses to take a deep breath and continues in a much slower and softer voice. "No matter what happens, fear can only control you if you let it take over. The Insects are not your enemy. Whoever you think is your enemy is not your enemy. You are your own enemy. You don't have to live up to the legends and tales the others have been saying about you. You don't even have to match the state you were at 3 years ago. Those standard are not the bar you have to reach. As long as you can accept yourself, you'll be able to live with yourself and forgive the mistakes you made in the past. She called you a cockroach? Then be a cockroach and live on!"
(1) strat: strategy
Chapter 22: Change of Plans
It's late so I just crash on their couch again. Or at least that was the idea. My body seems to have different ideas tonight. My eyes don't want to stay closed. Whenever I do force them to close for an extended period of time, I just see more flashbacks of times that I have failed in the past. Or B's lecture earlier.
Rolling over for the umpteenth time, I wonder what time it is. Fear grips me and any time I think I took a step forward away from my troubled past, something happens and I get forced two steps back. I still dont know what 'Romeo' that message was talking about.
Before the sun even rises, I get up and go outside. The best thing about New York City is that the city literally never sleeps. There's the bandage on my face, I'm wearing all black walking along the water front and no one bats an eye. Everyone just minds their own business and goes along their way.
My feet carry me down almost a third of the FDR Drive until I'm near Alphabet City. I scoff at the irony of the neighborhood next to my own. 'Ahh, so many pretty colors.' With wind through my hair and eyes on the horizon, I wish time could just stop right here. Despite the water being polluted to the point of turning a disgusting green color, the sparkling early rays of the rising sun somehow make the image pleasing to the eye.
Then I realize today is Saturday and thus, the "tomorrow" that I had promised Haruka. It's amazing how much of a difference just one day could make on my mood. We had agreed to meet up around 10 so I barely had over three hours to get ready for a full day at a spa and shopping with her. Then again.... three hours is enough time to take another quick shower, cook and eat a decently heavy breakfast and pack a bag with the essentials... right? Maybe but I don't want to cut my alone time any shorter than necessary and begin a brisk walk back to my apartment.
I remember to send A a ping about Haruka being suspicious and to thank him for the information earlier in the week. Realistically, I could have sent the message at any point since one of the main reasons for going to Nevada was to get the pager working again. When an agent goes AWOL or MIA, only certain limited messages can get sent to or from their devices.
Turns out three hours was more than enough time when Haruka decides to rush me and shoot me a text telling me to meet her at Kat's instead of my apartment. Something about the urgency in her message got to me. I make sure to put on some concealer and light powder foundation so Haruka won't worry too much about my panda eyes. Walking out and waiting at Kat's Delicatessen with a simple tote, I just chill and listen to music.
"I'm so, so sorry for rushing you, Juliet. I just assumed you didn't want Kou-nii to know where you lived so I picked somewhere- OH MY GOD Juliet what happened to your face?!?" Haruka chatters on while approaching me from a familiar looking Obsidian Blue Honda Accord. The moment our eyes meet, her chattering screeches to a stop. "Are you okay???"
I shrug nonchalantly, "Yeah, it's nothing." Maybe hanging around G is actually getting to me more than I thought. Do I actually want to be that laid back again?
"Okay if you say so.... You can't tell me what happened, can you?" Haruka whispers after checking to make sure no one would be able to hear.
I reassure her with a smile, "I'll let you know another time, I promise. What were you trying to tell me before you started screaming?"
"Oh right. I told Kou-nii that we were having a spa and shopping date today and he insisted on driving us. Something about having a golf meeting with someone higher up at a resort or something. I had told him no but he insisted so I just texted you to meet up here instead since you don't like people knowing where you live and stuff."
"Hmm makes sense. So I take it we're going somewhere super bougee(1)?"
"Yeah, most likely. Sorry about this."
I start walking towards Kou's car. "Nah, this is fine. He is paying right?" I say with a wink.
Haruka just giggles and walks beside me. "Well duh, it's not like we'd be going to some resort out of the city on our own even if I was driving. You can take shot gun by the way."
"Then there's no problem." Haruka and I may have plenty of funds to do whatever we want but living in the city doesn't exactly leave much expectation for anything that's not overseas. Spas in the city have great services so why bother getting upcharged when we're not even on vacation?
Kou had left the car standing and was leaning on the passenger door when we got back from our quick chat. He eyes my cheek and his brows pull together into a deep frown. The hard resting look in his eyes just gets darker as he stares.
"Hello there, Mr. Chauffeur. Thank you for upgrading our Girl's Day," I express my appreciation with a smile.
"But of course, ladies," Kou plays along and the frown melts.
"Wowwww you couldn't just say something like that to me this morning?" Haruka complains at the comical interaction. "What kind of brother are you?" she jokes.
"The one kind that's driving and paying for you to go to one of the best resorts in the Northeast," Kou retorts.
"Okay, okay fine." I see Haruka throw up her hands in a surrendering motion but still pretends to pout. These two are just so cute.
Kou opened both passenger doors and closed them behind us before looping around to take his seat at the wheel. Haruka takes my bag and places both hers and mine of the seat next to her. All three of us fasten our seatbelts and get comfortable before Kou worriedly asks, "What happened to your cheek? Did you get hurt or something? Are you okay?"
(1) bougee: slang for bourgeoisie; describing something that is of a higher class/ VIP type treatment and costs accordingly
Chapter 23: Lies
A heavy silence covers the car and my hand flies up to my cheek. Less than a second later, I blush and confess, "It's really embrassing actually. I wasn't careful in the shower so I knocked into the shower caddy and my razor fell and hit my face." The lie rolls so smoothly off my tongue. if I didn't see Haruka's disbelief written all over her accusing eyes, I could have believed it myself.
"I see. You need to make sure to take good care of it. A woman's face is one of her greatest weapons after all." I can tell that Kou has some misgivings about my story too but neither of them seem ready to question it.
The car ride is fairly relaxing. So relaxing in fact that I manage to doze off.
My dream is warm and I'm seeing my family again. Rushing into my mom's arms, I give her a tight hug but something is off. My dad picks me up with too much ease given my height and age. A quick glance at my hands is all it takes for me to realize I'm dreaming about my childhood again. Back in elementary or middle school before I had my huge growth spurt.
All of a sudden, I've grown and so has my family. My mother is combing my sister's hair into a tight bun for her ballet class and my father is teaching my brother about building and foundations with Legos. Then the scene changes and they disappear. I panic and try to find them in the new darkness but to no avail. My hands feel nothing as I rush through the emptiness before adruptly reaching my parents' hands. But their expressions are angry and disappointed, nothing like the warmth and happiness I was seeing earlier.
"It's your fault," my brother says from beside my dad.
"We could have had so much more," adds my sister. Both of my siblings were still teenagers when they died. I cut their lives short and it was my mistake that caused all of it.
My parents were so full of love, if they didn't miscarry after my brother, I would have had more siblings for sure. Now they just look at me with disdain in their eyes. They won't even say anything to me. Dad looks at my mom just like he used to like she contained his whole world and leads them away from me, never looking back.
I'm whimpering and scared. I want to call out to them but I know I can't. It's just a dream and any happiness I feel will just hurt more when the facade comes crashing down. 'Don't go... I'm sorry... Forgive me, please...'
A warm kiss lands on my forehead and the oppressiveness of the nightmare dissipates. "I'm not sure what you want to be forgiven for but I won't leave until you want me to," I hear a disembodied voice say. Something about the voice is soothing and familiar.
When I wake up after what felt like no time at all, I'm alone. I should have known better than to trust my own dreams to not lie to me. I still feel groggy and my heart still feels the pain of being left behind, only enhanced by my current state.
The door is being opened from the outside and my guard immediately goes up. How did I even get here? I'm in a hotel looking room with a TV and table and chair set across the room. The bed that I'm now sitting up in was extremely soft and comfortable. What time is it even?
"Oh goodie, you're awake." I look up to see Haruka talking to me. "You should have told us you were so tired. You passed out so hard in the car, Kou-mii had to pick you up and get a room so you could sleep more. He insisted that you be left alone until you woke up on your own."
"Kou carried me here?" I'm mortified in more ways than one. A single all-nighter shouldn't have worn me out so much as to sleep so deeply I don't even wake up when I'm being carried. "What time is it?"
"It's almost 5 pm. I actually expected you to sleep longer if I'm honest. Kou-nii only left your side an hour ago and extremely reluctantly too." I don't like the smirk on her face. "He had to meet with the client and couldn't keep pushing back the talk. I bet if they weren't playing golf or whatever other sports, they would have been done already though by now."
Talking to Haruka helps clear my head and I'm feeling more awake. "Let me know next time you really don't want to come out with me again, we can just hang out at home or something," Haruka complains. "Going to the spa rooms and pools alone is just a pain and boring."
I snicker in response but don't try to hide the smirk that's creeping up. "We can go to the heated rooms now if you want. I'll just take a moment to get changed."
"Really? Kou-nii gave me full reign of his card so we can get anything we want, starting with your hair."
"Okay, okay. One thing at a time." I climb out of bed and fish my bikini and cover up out of my bag. In the bathroom changing, I'm about to put on my cover up when Haruka barges in.
"Oh yeah and also Kou-nii said he might be awhile so we can stay here overnight too-Oh." When Haruka finally realizes what she walked in on, she's staring face to face with the owl on my left shoulder, burn scars completely MIA. "Oh... OH... So it was you..."
I tug the black sheer looking cover up over my top, effectively hiding the tattoos because of the beige layer underneath. "What are you talking about 'it was me'?"
"Kou-nii said he thought he saw you at the airport awhile back. He wasn't sure it was you but you coincidentally left on your yearly trip to visit your family so I forgot to ask."
My feet feel like they're filled with cement and I can't find the force to make myself move. I thought he didn't recognize me. The intuition of these two siblings is just too strong.
"I won't tell him anything, so don't worry. I am glad you don't actually have the really bad burn scars though." Haruka pulls me into an awkward hug, given how much taller I am than her I tuck my head over hers. "It's so beautiful... do you have other pieces that you can show me?" Haruka hesitantly asks.
Chapter 24: Nice to Meet You
"Um, if it's just showing you I can. I can't really say that much about them though."
"That's okay, I just want to see them. Your owl looked so cool."
I swear I can see stars in Haruka's eyes. "My mom used to really like owls," I sadly admit, taking off the cover up.
"Ooh, a full moon and a wolf howling to it. So coolllllll. Wait is the moon a cover up for an old bullet wound?"
"No," I respond way too quickly to be convincing.
Haruka traces the moon and then the smaller circle within a crater that is more raised than the rest of the flesh around it. "Okay," is all she says before she inches over to my right shoulder blade where the feathered wing starts and continues down the back of my tricep. She starts tracing it with her fingertips and I start getting embarassed.
"Have you seen enough yet? I haven't gotten to spend any time in the spa yet," I say hurriedly, trying to change the subject and get an opportunity to put the cover up back on.
"No, but let's go," Haruka quips. "Your burn scars actually aren't as bad as you make them out to be. That's probably on purpose to make an excuse though, right?" I just nod in response. This place offered both yukatas and bathrobes which confused me greatly but I just took a yukata and put it on over my clothes for now.
The format of the resort is huge and built with mixed Asian and Western influenced architectures. Oddly enough, they don't clash as much as I thought they would. Haruka leads me to the spa building through a covered walkway that looks straight out of a historical Asian drama. Once inside, Haruka wastes no time scheduling a hair treatment for me and facial for her in an hour, obviously paying with Kou's card. I laugh when she is forced to show his ID, her own ID to prove they are really siblings and she's not just robbing him, and then his VIP card to make the desk employee pale and let Haruka use it.
Letting Haruka deal with the problem, I walk away from the front desk and spot Kou. There's a woman walking beside him and something about the image irks me but I can't tell what. Kou spots me too, follows my gaze to see his sister finally walking away from the desk as well then leads the woman over. I really can't put my finger on it but there's something about this woman that I really don't like.
"Good morning, Juliet," Kou greets.
"Good morning," I respond. The woman looks confused but until Kou decides to introduce her, I decide to ignore her.
"Glad you're alive and kicking now. You were pretty heavy to carry."
My cheeks flush with indignation but I can't think of a witty come back fast enough. "Thanks for carrying me in," I mutter looking away. The blush on my face flares even brighter and creeps down my neck.
"Yeah Juliet, you should be more grateful to Kou-nii for carrying you in and staying with you for so long," Haruka teases. I hiss as her and she hides behind her brother then sticks her tongue out at me. "Are you going to introduce your companion to us or just keep making her stand here awkwardly, Nii-chan?"
"Right. This is Haruka and her best friend Juliet," Kou begins gesturing to us first.
The woman sees this and just interrupts him. "Hi, my name is Isabelle but you can call me Izzy. My dad made me come here so I wouldn't make trouble at home and so I could just have fun relaxing here."
"Her father is the client I was meeting earlier," Kou clarifies.
Haruka and I exchange a glance, understanding that Kou probably got forced to take care of this overgrown child of a woman. "Nice to meet you," we both mutter. Well I muttered and Haruka said it straight out. Even after meeting her, there's still something about this woman that I don't like and just feels off. If anything, the gut feeling got exponentially stronger.
"Are you two going to the sauna rooms right now?" Kou asks.
"Yeah, gonna hit the sauna rooms, then the whirlpools if we have time before our treatments," Haruka answers.
"Ooh Oooh can we join you? We were just going to do that too!!!" Izzy says with more enthusiasm than a child getting candy.
"We were?" Kou asks, his brows furrowing together. He receives a jab in the ribs and it instantly changes his mind, "Ah yes we were."
"Sure I guess. The rooms look pretty empty right now anyway," I say as calmly as I can. I'm trying to act as civil as I can but the way this chick is staring at me makes me want to punch her face in.
We hang our yukatas (and Isabelle's bathrobe) outside the sauna rooms and lay down inside. Something about Isabelle being the odd one out just feels so satisfying.
By the time we finish at all of the heated sauna rooms and cooled down in the cyro room, it's almost time for my hair's spa treatment and Haruka's facial. The thought of Kou being alone with Isabelle makes my stomach turn. I still haven't figured out why I'm so uncomfortable around her and I certainly don't want Kou to suffer because of it. Plus, B had told me not to ignore my instincts. I pull him around the corner and whisper below my breath, "Don't drink anything she gives you. Or eat anything either. I don't know what it is but I don't like her."
Kou was frowning at first but as soon as I finished, his dark eyes had started dancing. "Are you jealous?"
Chapter 25: Suspicions (1)
"Huh? W-w-w-what are you talking about?" I start sputtering.
Kou puts his hand on my bandaged cheek, gently rubbing it. A tender kiss lands on my forehead and Kou starts walking back around the corner to Haruka and Isabelle. Before turning the corner, he shoots me a smile and says, "I'll listen to you."
I'm insanely confused now but at least I got to warn Kou of my suspicions. By the time I turn the corner myself, Kou and Isabelle are nowhere to be seen.
"What was that about?" Haruka asks.
"I don't have a good feeling about that woman so I was warning him to be careful. Then he asked if I was jealous and I got really confused," I explain.
Looking down at her, I instantly regret telling Haruka what happened. The shit grin is back and she looks like she's coming up with a scheme in her head. Something up to no good again. "Well are you jealous????" The starry eyes are back and I'm sure she's expecting me to say yes or admit that I like her brother or something.
"No. My gut is just telling me that there's more to that heiress than meets the eye." Of course I'm going to deny it. I don't like Kou like that.
"Mhmmmm, whatever you say Juliet. Let's go before we're late to getting pampered." The shit-eating grin isn't completely gone but at least the subject has changed now.
As if a lightbulb goes off in Haruka's head, she suddenly stops walking and I almost topple her. The treatment rooms are right in front of us and have a couple people in each of them but for some reason this hallway is empty except for us. Haruka's grin finally fades and her forehead wrinkles up in a frown just like her brother. "Does it have something to do with how you got cut?"
I'm not at all surprised that Haruka suspected this much. She's not right but she isn't necessarily wrong either. I shrug my shoulders and Haruka starts glaring at me.
"What's that supposed to mean? That's my brother that might get in trouble here."
"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling. They might be related but it could also just be me being paranoid," I offer. There's honestly very little I do know yet but Haruka is right. Kou is the one with Isabelle right now and at the most risk at the moment. "Let's just go get our stuff done and over with. The less time Kou spends alone with her, the better." Haruka nods her agreement and we go inside our respective treatment rooms.
I had just sat down and was getting my hair soaked when Haruka walks in. "I convinced them to let me get my facial here since there aren't that many people right now."
"I see..." The staff don't look too pleased but the shiny VIP card had probably changed their minds.
The idea was to chat but since Haruka was getting a facial, I ended up doing most of the talking. From work life balance to my family and what it's like living alone, Haruka asked and I answered truthfully.
When Haruka got to my tattoos, I just told her about my anklet and the flower behind my ear that she had seen before. My trips to the Philippines and South Korea were for a missions on separate occasions but I also had used the time to visit my grandparents and extended family. Although seeing family became my official cover story, I really did miss them a lot. After each of the trips I had gotten the tattoos despite Alphabet execs having some choice words to say about making myself easily memorable. I know she wanted to know about my back but I can't tell her about them without having a melt down and crying my eyes out.
An hour passes and both of us finish. After thanking the staff, Haruka texts Kou to find out where he is. We take our time walking around the whirlpools but he doesn't respond. Haruka calls him hoping it might help. He doesn't pick up the first call or the second. Something isn't right and I know I'm not the only one that thinks so. Haruka is getting paler by the second and getting harder to drag around.
If only the resort wasn't so huge, I'd just leave Haruka in the hotel room and run around searching myself. We ask the front desk but they haven't seen him either and since Kou is an adult, it didn't constitute an emergency to summon him over the intercom.
I'm starting to regret telling Haruka about my fears. She's freaking out and I'm trying to think of where I'd be able to track his phone from. Luckily Haruka and Kou had find my phone functions enabled for each other so we try from Haruka's phone. It seems to be going well but then I realize that the location pin is exactly where we are standing. That's about as useful as if we were in a hundred story building and we had to look in one spot of every single floor. I'm tempted to do exactly that but the pin moves when we do so I know someone is playing games with us.
Regretting not bringing a laptop or something that I could track Kou on my own, I storm back to the hotel room, much to Haruka's surprise. Once there, I pull out my pager and ping G. When he doesn't respond, I call B's regular phone with my own. Ignored once again, I start panicking alongside Haruka.
"What do we do now?!" Haruka's on the verge of tears now. There is a chance that Kou is alright but I don't want to risk the odds that he isn't. Taking a deep breath, I ask Haruka if she trusts me.
"Of course I do! Are you going to pull out all the stops or something? I promise I won't tell anyone and I just want Kou-nii to be safe but I don't want you to be in danger either!"
Her faith steadies my nerves as I send A an emergency ping. Seconds later, the new cell I got in Nevada starts vibrating from inside my bag.
"I need your help, A."
Chapter 26: Suspicions (2)
"Well I assumed as much. What can I do for you, J?" A says over speaker. I'm trying to change out of my soaked bikini and into jeans as quickly as I can. Cursing my lack of proper habits, I don't have more clothes that are easy to move in. Haruka is staring at me but I don't know what to tell her right now.
"My friend's brother disappeared with a woman named Isabelle. She said to call her Izzy and she was acting extremely bubbly and excited but I felt something off about her. We separated over an hour ago and I can't track him normally anymore. I've tried all the normal stuff and none of the staff have seen him," I report. "His name is Kou Igawa and he was supposed to be here on a business meeting. The sister's name is Haruka and she's with me now. She's the one I told you about."
I hear a pause and then a deep sigh from the other side of the line. "What exactly are you doing in the middle of nowhere? There are spas everywhere but you had to choose one that is inbetween a lake, a mountain range and a forest."
"It is? I didn't choose to come here. Kou insisted on driving us since he was already going to come here. "
"I trust your gut, J. You better not be baiting me into Someone is tracking the last untampered signals to and from his phone. Z is on her way to you. She'll be there in an hour. I hope you have your clip."
"I don't."
"Well fuck, I'll just have to stalk you then."
"Sorry A, thank you for helping me."
"You better keep your word, you little rascal," A chuckles, referring to what I said before I left the base camp.
Managing to clip in a headset under my clothes and plug it into the device, I'm almost all set. "Any hits?"
"Yeah, I'll send you a map."
"What am I supposed to do with the girl? I can't bring her with me but it's not secure here either."
Haruka seems to regain her wits at this point. "What do you mean what do you do with me? I want to go too! You said it's not safe here so wouldn't the safest place be next to you?" She's started changing out of her wet clothes but a sundress isn't going to do much to help her move.
"Well, no," I answer honestly. "The safest place would probably be the front desk. Bless this place for being open 24hrs."
"There's no way to be sure of that you know," A says quietly. I know he's right but I don't know else I'd be able to do. "Take her with you. Z can watch her when she arrives. Or maybe you can get the -oh wait nevermind, he got caught awhile ago."
"Who got caught?" I fume. What new development is coming around this time?!
"The tail you put on the girl. Not sure where he went actually but he's out of the equation. He's nowhere within a 10 mile vacinity."
"Great...." I mutter. The map has finished loading so I make moves to leave the room. Haruka grabs my arm. Well, I guess she's coming with me, suitable clothing or not. I give her one of my ear pieces to put into her ear. It won't be tied down and secured on her clothes like mine but at least she'll know where I'm going and what's going on. Bluetooth signals are also exponentially less secure but I really couldn't care less at this point.
"Remember to take his car keys. His car is still in the lot and you're gonna need it unless you want to run the whole way there," A says. The keys were carelessly left in Haruka's bag for some reason. Did Kou know something was going on?
As promised, Kou's car is still in the lot where he parked it. I didn't know where that was so Haruka had to lead but I took the keys from her and made her sit in the passenger seat. "You're in no state to be driving."
"You're not either," she glares back. She's not wrong. My hands are shaking and my face is burning as if to remind me that I'm still a failure of a fighter. Still, I have more experience doing stupid things than her, even if her hacking skills exceed mine.
Following the directions, I drive through a forest path that somehow leads up into the mountain range. We pass by a couple odd houses and buildings before ending up at a series of farm buildings that look like they have been repurposed as warehouses.
'What is with these stereotypes and warehouses? Wait... wasn't it a warehouse last time too....?'
"Is the stereotype about warehouses true? Or do abandoned buildings in general just look like warehouses?" I hear Haruka ask. A laughs from the other side of the line. I smile at our same thought wavelength.
"Is this the end of the line, Alpha?" I ask.
"He should be somewhere but be careful. There's still suspicious activity in the area. Your friend should probably stay in the locked car and hide."
I look to the side and see Haruka nodding and moving to hide underneath the seat. Tossing her the keys, A reminds her to lock everything and I climb out. Before I can even hide in the foliage around the car, I sense a familiar individual surrounded by several other presences. There are at least three snipers trained on me but I don't think that person knows that this is a trap and they have been bait the whole time.
Knowing that hiding at this point is a waste of time and effort, I walk forward with my hands up. The area is suddenly shining with flood lights. 'Of course it's a warehouse again. What more is there to ask for but some originality? Do other types of large empty buildings even exist?'
The figure then notices me after his eyes adjust to the sudden addition of bright lights. "Juliet? Why are you out here? Where's Haruka?" he asks. Behind him, I spot a sinister smile and a glimmer of light reflecting off of a gun.
"Kou, GET DOWN!"
Chapter 27: No Surprises Here
The unsilenced gunshot cuts through the air. I drop to the ground roll to the side so I'm at least next to the overgrowth and to his credit, Kou does too. He managed to dodge the bullet but before he can get lower than just kneeling, the gun holder smacks the back of his head with the butt.
The sound of the gun exploding behind Kou makes my stomach start rolling. I want to roll farther to the side but hiding to try and get some cover will just put Kou in more danger. My earpiece is still in so I start fishing for information. "Who are you and why are you doing this?"
Isabelle answers in a much more familiar way than the childlike squealing from earlier. "Oh my dear J. Has it really been that long that you can't even recognize an old friend? Or was the trauma of your precious family being murdered in front of you that terrifying?"
"Why are you even still around, I?" I spit out. "Traitors like you shouldn't be allowed to roam freely like this."
"Hmm not sure actually. But you see, the thing about a place like Alphabet is that there's so little oversight in proportion to how much you slave away for them. A single ant scurrying away doesn't attract enough attention for admin to care. Of course, that's only because they're not the ones that will have to deal with the aftermath," I says.
I thought she had died or at least been detained for her betrayal. However, what she said was completely on the nose. Alphabet execs don't care as long as the bad apples get let go. Silencing them on paper isn't humane enough for them but then when agents have to clean up the mess, it's perfectly okay because their hands aren't involved. Who knows how much sensitive information got leaked by this hoe.
The traitor continues, "You know, I've never really liked you, J. You had so much going for ya but life was too boring for the sheltered little princess. Gotta go out and play to spice it up. Well was your plate hot enough? Or do you need a little more red to be satisfied?"
Her menacing smile reflects in the blade suddenly brandished against Kou's exposed neck. My eyes widen to the size of saucers. I'm contemplating all of my options right now and none of them are particularly attractive.
"Is what I wish I could do anyway but someone else has other plans for you. I know you have a piece in. Leave it out here and come inside. Of course, you don't have an option to say no unless you wanna say goodbye to this pretty face," I threatens. A minion comes out and swings Kou over their shoulder, carrying him into the warehouse.
Frustration fueled anger seethes out of my pores. I could walk away from this but Haruka would never forgive. *I* would never forgive me. "Just go in. As long as the girl stays hidden, she'll be semi safe until Z gets there in 30 minutes," A says in my ear.
I'm scared and I'm furious. My heart palpitates deafeningly in my chest while I walk into another trap, this time willingly.
The lights inside didn't surprise me since the flood lights outside had blinded me already. What does surprise me is the interior design of the warehouse.
'What the fuck? Why is it a maze? How did they even have the time to disappear so quickly?'
"Welcome Agent J!" a male voice announces from somewhere above me through a megaphone.
I recognize the voice but if I didn't know better, I'd assume that someone was mimicking the Kingpin of the South's voice. Maybe…? I honestly have no idea at this point.
"Let's play a game shall we? You make it through the maze and we'll let your dear Romeo go," he continues. "Of course there are conditions since otherwise this would all be too easy."
'They're calling him Romeo because I'm Juliet right? Ha ha, very funny. I guess I'm a 13 year old child with no sense of the world then.'
"Well… what are they?" I ask since he paused and seemed like he had no intention of continuing.
"You'll figure them out as you go. Of course, that's if you manage to make it to the end."
Taunting asshole answer but okay. No time like the present, time to start. I pull out a custom switchblade out of my back pocket and take my first steps forward. There's no way of breaking through the whole thing since it's made of brick so I had to solve the maze like a lab rat. Of course, I can't know for certain that there is a proper way to find Kou but it's not like I have any other options right now.
Countless lefts and rights pass by in blur as well as random minions that try to jump me. I have no idea what time it is anymore and my nerves are starting to wear away at my stamina. These goons don't help much in that factor either. But the farther into the building I get, the more they seem to be appearing so I'm probably going the right way. I have a general map of where I've already gone through based on the ceiling and attempts to remember the directions I took.
That's when I hit a deadend. About to turn around and backtrack, I realize that I'm, once again, not alone. This time there are a group of them, at least four heads that I can see and for once they are armed. For some reason the weapons are all blunt force and not blades or guns but that just makes my life easier. At least if I get hit, I'll just end up with some nasty bruises or a broken bone at worst. No need to worry about bleeding out.
"Let me guess, you guys are the next level I have to clear before I can pass?"
Chapter 28: Dog
They just kind of stand there and stare at me as if waiting for me to make the first move. We continue our staring contest for about three more seconds before I lunge forward.
I don't have time to waste like this regardless of what they want to do with Kou. Z had to have met up with Haruka already but I have no idea what they would be doing at this point.
As much as it would make this infinitely easier, I'm trying my best not to kill any of them. Immobilizing is much harder between weaving between swings of random bats, poles and sticks, but these goons don't move very quickly. Dodging would be relatively easy if there weren't so many of them appearing out of thin air. Once I knock out one, at least two take his place.
This is endless and I don't have enough stamina to keep this up. As if on cue, I trip and stumble into a wall. My breathing is labored and my limbs ache. I push my matted, sweaty hair out of my eyes and barely dodge a bat being swung at my left arm.
The action leaves me really curious. 'Are they also trying to avoid killing me too?' He could have easily aimed for my head if the goal was to completely take me out of the equation.
Either way, I don't have any more time to think about their motives. Forcing out a final burst of strength, I grab a dropped pole and drop the rest of the ones in sight. The effort brings me to my knees even after leaning on the wall and using the pole as a crutch. My limit has long been passed. It's a miracle that I'm even still conscious.
Suddenly, I'm met with a bittersweet surprise. A blow horn sounds from somewhere above and the stragglers part like the Red Sea. What I had thought was a dead end now shows a hidden door swung outward to another open area.
Crumbling into a pile, I just breathe. A minute passes. Then a second. Finally a third passes and I realize a major reason for my lack of recovery even after just sitting here. 'I haven't eaten since breakfast, who knows how long ago. And I technically slept but that was a pretty shitty nap.'
Dragging myself to my feet, I make my legs steady and hold my weight. As I walk past the remaining minions, they make no move to stop me. 'Fine by me, I guess.'
The back of the building is closed off and empty except the three figures in the middle. I immediately recognize the south's King standing closest to me. Behind him stands I holding back Kou's head with a gun pointed at his temple while his unconscious body slumps in a chair.
"Why are you doing this?" I slowly ask. Maybe I hadn't managed to avoid getting hurt as well as I had hoped. "If you agreed to the deal with the Insects, why didn't you just kill me and get it over with, Mr. King?"
His laughter and mocking eyes make me uncomfortable. "Now let's not be so uptight, Ms. Juliet. You may call me Rey and I know you already know dear Izzy," he answers with a distinct Latino accent. I flinch at the mention of my name despite expecting it since G had warned me a month ago.
"Okay, Rey. What game are you trying to play here?" I snap. Behind him Izzy isn't moving but it also seems like she has no intention of moving her hands.
He holds up his hands in an "oh well" gesture without breaking eye contact. "I never said that I made a deal with the Princess. So what reason would I have to kill such a useful dog?"
"Dog?"
Rey nods. "Yes, because I want you to work for me." I see Izzy's hands clench a little and finger the trigger more than necessary. Then I register moans and groans coming from somewhere out of sight. The walls make the sounds echo too much for me to be able to pinpoint the location.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because I know everything about you, Agent J. Even your real name. Of course, doing all of this isn't easy." Rey pauses to gesture behind him. "But I've done it once so I know I can do it again. You can take some time to think about it but don't take too long, sweetheart," he adds with a wink.
With that, Rey and Izzy walk away from me and towards another hidden door, leaving Kou in the chair. I rush forward but before Izzy even reaches the doorway, she shoots at the body, forcing him to fall forward. The flashbacks start rushing back faster as I zombie sprint to him. There's blood gushing out of his shoulder and I try applying pressure to slow the bleeding.
Blood blurs my vision and the smell of burning kerosine burns my lungs. Burning. Blood. Why is this happening again? I try to pick up Kou and go back out the way I came in but my legs won't stop shaking.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. This is all my fault again. I'm so sorry. Don't die please. I don't want to see more faces in my nightmares. Please forgive me…" I mutter over and over.
I try the crawl but dragging Kou with me considerably slows my progress. Considering most bricks aren't, these walls are really flammable and the heat travels towards us. A part of my brain says just stay here and stop struggling to live but every time I look at Kou, I know that I can't just give up like that.
Smoke overrides my senses. I've managed to drag Kou to the nearest outer wall and start bashing it in with the metal rod I picked up. Sitting up doesn't allow for enough torque so I first kneel then stand on my unsteady legs to swing as hard as I can. The rest of the building is aflame and the supports are rapidly weakening. I get blessed with a break in the wall from the other side and I manage to expand enough to force Kou through to the waiting hands.
With a cough, I've run out of time and a support beam falls, barrelling in my direction.
Chapter 29: White
Z on the other side of the wall is dragging Kou away from the flames but she could still hear the impact and my scream. While I had managed to dodge roll out of a direct hit, my leg had still been clipped by some other fallen debris.
I can vaguely see that she wants to drop Kou where he is and help me but with a nod of my head she continues to pull him far out of danger's reach.
A sigh of relief escapes my lips knowing that the other three people here are safe. I'm satisfied with this final result and am about to give up when I hear a voice screaming in my head.
"Live on!" It's an old memory of a voice I knew and loved dearly. The image of my mother shoving me forward seems to push my foot out from underneath the rubble and give me the strength to crawl out myself. With one breath of non ash filled the air, tears fill my eyes and I immediately topple on my side.
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Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
'It's so annoying. Why the fuck won't my alarm just automatically snooze?'
My head rolls over and I reach for an alarm clock that doesn't exist and isn't on my bedside table. In fact, I'm not even in my own bed. Or any bed that I'm familiar with. Everything around me is white except for the pale blue wallpaper and grey door in the right corner. Just lifting my arm had taken a lot of effort. More effort than I'm willing to expend again.
'Where am I…?'
Memories of last night come flooding back. Immediately, my laziness is forgotten and I attempt to sit up. Naturally, I don't. Tugging my leg out of the hanging cast makes my next attempt a little more successful and I'm slightly less horizontal than before.
There's a burning sensation in my chest that leaves my lungs feeling like I'm still breathing in smoke even with the mask. My entire body hurts but the soreness is oddly muted. The doctors probably gave me something to help with that.
I give sitting up another go hoping to be able to see out the windows but I barely make another inch of progress. From the looks of the light, the time is somewhere between 7 am and 4 pm but I can't tell for certain without seeing the clouds in the sky.
Someone appears at the door and I try to move again just to fail miserably this time. So much for the third time being the charm. Instead, my eyelids shut of their own accord and refuse to open back up.
----------------
The next time I wake up, I'm back to being completely horizontal. However, my leg has stayed out of the sling, and sitting up is marginally easier. By the second try, I actually manage to at least take a look at the visitor taking a nap.
My hand reaches out to pat her on the head but she catches it before I can reach her. Once she recollects her bearings, her eyes widen at me and she jumps up to gather me in a tight hug.
"Oh my god, J, I'm so sorry I was late."
"It's okay, sweet child. You still made it in the end. That's what matters. I'm alive because of you." Consoling Z is easy because she doesn't go into the 'what ifs' of what could have happened if she got there earlier. Being alive and in one piece is a good enough reason for her to calm down. At least her tears stopped within five minutes even though the hiccups remained. They were cute and endearing too.
Once she stops crying, I start asking for information. "What happened after I passed out? I can tell it's night time now but how long has it been? How are Haruka and Kou doing?"
"Haru -hic- ka is okay. We -hic- found her in the car right -hic- away and one of -hic- the trainees took her a -hic- way before she could see the blood -hic- when we brought you two around to be taken -hic- here."
"Is she here though? There's no way Kou isn't here if I am," I press. The hiccups are adorable but they also impede on her explanation.
Z nods. "I gave her my number so she went to work -hic- on Monday as directed but she couldn't help getting -hic- worried about you two so I agreed to bring her here after work hours. I didn't tell her what happened -hic- so she doesn't know the full extent of injuries though -hic-. She did say her boss -hic- has let her bring her work -hic- so she doesn't have to go to the office for now."
"Hmm, that does make sense that Erica would know something is going on. What day is it now?" I pull off my mask and figure out which wires I can disconnect from my body and which I can bring with me.
"It's -hic- Wednesday," Z takes a look at a clock on the opposite side of the room. "A little -hic- after four in the morning. I think the first time you woke up was -hic- around 15:00 yesterday. Kou first woke up around noon Monday but he -hic- lost a lot of blood so despite not needing a ventilator like you, he has been -hic- sleeping since."
Satisfied with her answer and my decreased number of tubes attached to my body, I use my arms to propel my weight forward and bring my legs closer. "Want to help me take a walk? I want to see them," I ask.
Z looks conflicted but in the end, gives in and brings a wheelchair to the side of my bed.