Saito waited patiently for his guests to arrive, being a hacker his entire life finally bared fruit, even if it meant working for the wrong side of the law.
The door opened and he turned to the woman and tall man "Sakura-Sama?"
"Saito, you said you found something?"
"Yes..." He played the recording on his computer, there they saw Baiken doing a split down an escalator "Is that her?"
Sakura silently watched still seeing her do that back flip, Saito paused the video so Baiken's bleak eyes where in clear view.
"Where is this taken?" She asked.
"Edinburgh UK"
"Good work" Yuna said getting her phone out.
"Siegfried, I have the target in Edinburgh"
"Should she be killed?"
"No, captured and brought back to Japan, if anyone else stands in your way... Kill them"
***
The tattoo of the knife disappeared neatly between them, Zander forced his eyes away and this is when she noticed so she closed the top.
"Seppuku, that's suicide right?"
"Yes"
"How? Did you stop me?" He asked, the fragments he remembers are pieces of the fight, and her without that top.
"I knocked you out"
He looked at her amazed "You?"
"Yes"
"Your cute ass knocked me out?"
She subconsciously glanced back but frowned "You never make sense!"
Zander have her a soft smile "I'm sorry, and, thank you" he said and left the room.
She blinked, deep in her chest she felt that was not wise, something felt off about how he smiled just now, he still had this vibe of wanting to get out of her company and she didn't like that.
Baiken quickly got to her clothes but ditched the idea of hopping into jeans, so she just threw on lingerie and slid into that dress.
Outside she ran and caught up with him heading down the stairs "Where are you going?"
"Out quick" he said not looking back.
She knew it! Deep in her she had the feeling he was going after some more of that poison!
She followed him closely, not once did he look at her, in a scaly alleyway he stopped at a phone booth, now he looked back.
"Uh~" he first looked at her in that dress and she blushed "Mind, giving me some privacy here quick?"
She nodded stepping back a few paces.
Zander closed the booth door and threw coins into the phone, then rang up a memorised number.
"Yes its me"
"Zander, you're still ok, thank goodness" Diana said on the other side.
In a core, or a unit, they keep only one high end untraceable phone, this is usually carried by Diana, and her team can always call her on it.
"How's the new HQ looking?"
"Still busy, is everything ok?" She heard that usual cheerful attitude is gone.
"I'm fine"
"Bullshit Zander, I know you by now"
"I'm... Fine, really"
"What is it? Have you taken your medication?"
He remained silent and she blew out.
"Are you still ok?"
"N, not really"
"Did you drink?"
"A, a lot"
"Dammit Zander!"
He said nothing again.
"Where's Baiken!?"
He turned seeing her still wait outside "She's ok, she actually knocked me out last night"
"Oh, good for you then! I hope it hurt!"
"It did"
"Good! I need you to get that medication asap! You hear!"
"Yeah"
Diana remained quiet, something in his answer told her to wait.
"Its, her Dame Smith, its Baiken"
"What about her?"
"I don't want to hurt her"
"It sounds to me like she hurt you?"
"No! Her heart man! And you call yourself a woman!"
Baiken actually heard that 'Her heart?'
"What do you want to do then?" Diana asked.
"Let me know when HQ is up, I need to get away from her"
"She not clicking with you?"
"No, she's clicking too much actually"
"How so?"
"She and I have way too much in common Diana, if I don't get away, I'm afraid I'll hurt her, she doesn't deserve to go through that hell again"
"She told you huh?"
"Yes"
"Ok then, phone again at about thirteen hundred, I'll make sure to get you an exact time for then"
"Very well" he hooked the phone back and the change came out.
He took the money and swiveled it in his hand, then peeked over at Baiken, her gaze somewhere off to her left, the breeze blowing her hair and that dress in stunning harmony, he felt a cramp in his chest, he can't fall for her! He can't!
He threw more coins down the gullet of the phone and dialled another number.
"Yes, its me" he said in Afrikaans.
"Scheepers, you in Edinburgh?" The man on the other side answered.
"I have till 1300"
"Meet me at the docks in ten"
"Make it twenty, I'm far out"
"Very well"
He left the booth and she turned to him, he first came up to her, looking at her in that dress with a well stick stare, she felt her eyes almost wash her physically.
"Ok, now I'll formally say it" he said.
"Say what?" She asked, not helping her blush.
"I'm sorry, and, thank you for taking that gun away from me"
Her face though red again still didn't produce a smile, but she nodded.
"Let's go, I have another matter to attend to" he said and walked back to the hotel.
Baiken heard his demeanor was slightly returned, but she still felt something off.
If that wasn't enough he started telling her a tale last night, and she was still burning to find out the end, maybe that would clear his episode with the poison up a little.
After Zander recollected his firearm they got into his car and set off, but just as her eyes were poised forward, trying to decide if it's right now to ask him, he couldn't help glance at her every now and then.
"So why did you choose the dress this time?" He broke the silence.
"I was trying to catch up to you and it was the quickest to dress into"
"Oh, nothing about wanting to look pretty for me hey?"
She looked at him, that blush still had her "I want to look pretty for myself, since the one I tried looking pretty for showed an ugly side of himself last night"
"I said I'm sorry"
She saw his hand brush his hair again.
"Tell me about it?"
His eyes only glanced "You want to know the ugly of me?"
"You saw the ugly side of me, and know why"
"Yeah, you decapitated a man..."
"And you nearly shot yourself"
He swallowed first.
"Ok, let's pick up from last night, right?"
She nodded.
"I don't, want to be close to you, because of what happened to Antoinette... That man I beat, that champion, he was the son of a drug dealer back in Jozi"
"Jozi?"
"Johannesburg"
"Oh"
"Feeling his pride and stature take a hit they kidnapped Antoinette's father, and told her she can have him back, if she comes to drive a knife into my heart"
Baiken heard the sorrow in his voice.
"No..." He looked at her "I'm done lying ok?"
He was spinning another truth! Is he really that drenched in the blood of his past.
"What really happened was they did kidnap the old man, but told her I did it, and remember regardless of anything Antoinette was also a cage fighter, unbeknownst to her dad. She came to my house with that butterfly knife and went at me"
"Didn't you try and convince her?"
"Of course I did..." He brought his hand up and brushed his mouth, Baiken heard that sizzle of his unshaven beard "But who would ever believe a monster right?"
"You're not a monster Zander!"
"Zander, the Schycopath Scheepers, that was my ring name, my way of fighting was horrid in the last two years, no one trusted me, I even felt Antoinette slightly parting, trying around every bend to make an excuse for not seeing me; I have class, my dad is taking me out for a drink, I have work to do..."
He looked at her, Baiken saw in his eyes he was about to reach a climax here.
"Through my diving and dodging she still managed to stab me six times, when I finally lost the will to try and plead further, she came in again and I grabbed her arm... The samurai call it a draw slash right? The sword coming out of the scabbard and slashing?"
"Yes?"
"I broke her hand, then grabbed the knife, like a draw slash I yanked it out cutting her wrist, and in one motion after that, that razor sharp butterfly knife accidentally went right through her neck"
Baiken felt herself inwardly gasp when a tear ran down his cheek, he still cries, even after she tried to kill him? Is that the type of love he was talking about? Is that how painful it is to lose it?
Can she deal with that pain? Because he said he didn't want to hurt her, he didn't want to be the one to hurt her with an emotion, but she figured him out, what he is trying to say is 'he' doesn't want to feel that pain again, he was afraid to love another woman.