Chapter 6

Hard as it was, we agreed that we needed to limit our contact with Omi as much as possible before the hit. We kept in touch via a supposedly secure computer link that Kritiker set up, but with so much on the line none of us wanted to risk Esstet discovering the ruse. So, we used it as little as possible.

We'd also agreed that Omi should work the hit as if absolutely nothing were different, though he shouldn't appear too eager to finish the job. None of us knew exactly when or where the shot would come from, but the Kritiker 'paramedics' were standing by twenty-four/seven, just waiting for their cue. We all hovered around Manx whenever she left the police building, trying to seem inconspicuous but probably failing. Well, let Esstet believe she had called us back as bodyguards or something.

When it finally happened, it was completely unexpected. Ran and I had accompanied Manx out of the building on her lunch break - Youji was asleep, having taken late watch the night before. The park by the waterfront where Manx often ate her lunch was filled with people, all running and laughing and generally enjoying the warm summer day. We weren't being particularly watchful; it was such an incredibly public place that a hit would have been difficult to pull off.

When the sharp report of a rifle sounded and a huge crimson stain started spreading across the front of Manx's blouse, I thought at first that something had gone horribly wrong. Either Omi hadn't used the dummy bullets, or by some incredible coincidence, someone else had tried an assassination attempt. It looked so real, and the pained shock on Manx's face wasn't feigned. She slumped slowly to the grass of the park path, and people around us started screaming.

Ran and I rushed forward, me yelling at some businessman with a cell phone to call the paramedics, quickly. I guess I must have looked convincing, because he hastily ended his call, white-faced, and dialed the emergency number. Kritiker had arranged to have all calls to the paramedics routed through their base for the next few days, so our people would be on the way shortly, with the real ambulance team none the wiser to our deception.

I was more than a little relieved to feel Manx's pulse beating strongly against my searching fingers, and nodded slightly at Ran. I guess the shock of the impact had hurt, even though it hadn't actually done any damage. The paint pellet looked disturbingly convincing, and so long as we didn't let anyone get close enough to see that there was no actual entry or exit wounds, our ploy was going to succeed. Manx was lying utterly still, even her chest barely rising and falling with the tiny breaths she was taking.

Our team arrived quickly, Manx was checked over, and one of the attendants shook his head silently. The 'body' was lifted onto a stretcher, covered with a sheet, and the ambulance pulled somberly away, lights and sirens still. Already reporters were converging on the scene, and as unobtrusively as possible, Ran and I slipped away.

Just that quickly, it was over. We made our way back to the hotel suite where we'd all been crashing since the whole mission had started, and settled in to wait. Manx joined us after several hours, having been smuggled out of the hospital morgue by more Kritiker agents. As far as the world was concerned, police commissioner Okada Chiyako was well and truly dead. The fake blood on her shirtfront still looked distressingly real, and I found it difficult to look at her until she'd changed.

Thereafter followed one of the worst hours of my life, as we waited for Omi to contact us. We all stared at that damn computer screen like a revelation from god was scheduled to appear at any moment, and if we blinked we'd miss it. Omi hadn't yet reported in, and that worried us all. He was supposed to have checked in immediately after returning from the scene of the shooting. I paced back and forth, knowing I was irritating the others, but unable to keep still.

Finally, finally, the damn machine beeped. I nearly tripped over a loose throw rug in my haste to work my way back around the couch to where I could see the monitor, and Youji didn't fare much better in his dash from the kitchen doorway. We stood staring at the single line of text, disbelieving.

/*Mission failed - target aware. Hostage taken.*/

I think I summed up what we were all feeling pretty well. "Oh, shit!"

By the time the three of us made it to Omi's apartment, half a dozen possibilities and alternatives had been discussed and discarded. There had been no more after that single transmission, though we'd sent endless queries. Hostage could have referred to either of them... and if Omi had been taken, it would explain the brevity of the message. We'd all seen what happened when Nagi became upset, and he'd be in no shape to be sitting at a computer.

Sure enough, we could see the damage to their apartment door from all the way down the hall. It hung askew, and there were marks around the lock that indicated it had probably been forced open. Cautiously we entered the apartment, weapons at the ready in case the message had been a trap set by Esstet to lure us out. It felt strange to wear the heavy glove containing my claws in it again, the stiff leather unfamiliar in my grasp after so long. I was a little reassured that Ran and Youji both seemed far more comfortable with their weapons of choice.

The entire apartment had been turned inside out, expensive weapons and computer components smashed and destroyed as though flung against the walls with impossible force. As we'd half expected, we found Nagi passed out in the center of the living room, hand still clutching the keyboard that had been attached to the computer link. It was the only intact piece of electronics in the room.

Since none of us had any idea of how to administer the antidote, we had to wait until Nagi woke on his own. In the meantime we searched fruitlessly for clues as to what had happened. If there had ever been any, they had been destroyed in the wake of the telekinetic blast Nagi had apparently released after contacting us.

I was the first to notice him stirring, blinking hazily and struggling to sit. Hastily I dropped to the floor beside him, propping him up and providing a steady anchor for him to orient on. Ran and Youji hovered over my shoulder disconcertingly.

"Nagi. Are you okay? What happened?"

Nagi stared blankly at me for several long moments, before recognition entered his eyes. "Ken? What... ohhhhh..." he moaned and pressed the heel of one hand to his forehead. "Oh, gods, that hurts... what... why... why didn't Omi give me the..." His eyes flew open and he clutched at my shoulder.

"Omi! Ken, they took Omi! It was a trap, they knew you'd found him and were setting him up, they were waiting when he got back..." he was babbling, fingers clenching and unclenching against my shoulder bone. I heard a warning rattle from some of the scattered debris around us, and I knew I had to head off another fit before he could send himself into oblivion again.

"Nagi! Nagi, calm down, it's okay, we're here and we're going to get him back. I promise. We'll get him back. But I need you to stay focused, and tell me what happened!"

With a visible struggle, Nagi calmed himself, and the hovering bits and pieces settled down again. Panting and leaning against me for support, he told us the whole story.

"They showed up just after he left, one of the sub-lieutenants and a couple of telekinetics. Featherweights, both of them, but they were still strong enough to keep me contained..." he looked disgusted with himself, and I hastened to reassure him.

"There wasn't anything you could have done, Nagi. You're in no shape to fight anyone, much less another telekinetic. Just tell us what happened."

"They hauled me in here, and sat me on the floor. I was dizzy and disoriented, they caught me halfway through a dose of the antidote, and I couldn't even think clearly enough to find a way to warn Omi. They knew you'd staged the assassination, somehow they knew everything. I think they have this whole place bugged, so they must have heard us planning. Either that, or one of their precogs warned them."

Youji swore. "Once they knew we'd contacted him, they must have realized they'd lost their hold over him. The whole thing was a setup to distract us, so they could grab Omi when he wasn't looking. But why leave Nagi behind? He's their only insurance against Omi fighting back."

"Unless... they aren't planning to keep him alive," I said grimly. "They know Nagi will die soon enough without the antidote, and the explosion he'll set off will neatly destroy most if not all of the evidence here. But why not just kill him outright?"

Nagi paled. "Omi told me... lately they had been pressuring him to try an experimental technique, to give him psychic powers. It's something they've been developing for a long time, trying to increase the potential of their existing psychics and create new ones. He refused, of course... but what if they're planning to use him as a test subject?"

I swore. The idea of Omi as Esstet's guinea pig was a highly disturbing one, and I couldn't shake the image of him tied down to a surgical table, having horrible things done to him, from my mind. There are times when it really bites to have an imagination as active as mine could be.

Nagi was shaking in my arms, obviously fighting to keep from crying. I could see that he was holding control over himself by the thinnest of threads, and I wasn't certain I wanted to find out what would happen if he lost it again. I looked up at Ran and Youji above me.

"We've got to get him back. Now, before they can do anything to him. And before Nagi's condition gets beyond help."

Youji shrugged helplessly. "How? We have no idea where to even start looking!"

"Nagi knows."

Youji and I stared at Ran, then back at the shivering form huddled against my chest. "Of course," I exclaimed softly. "Nagi, the lab where you went when you tried to rid yourself of your powers - would it still be operational? Or do you know of any others where they might have taken him?"

Nagi frowned, thinking it over. "It's possible they took him there," he admitted. "They do have other labs, but I wouldn't even know where to start looking for them. I only knew the location of that one because I'd been called on once to contain an out-of-control subject. That's how I found out about the experimentation in the first place."

"Even if they're not at that particular lab, it's a place to start looking," Youji nodded, rising from where he was crouched over Nagi and I. "If nothing else, we may be able to find clues to the whereabouts of the other labs there. So what are we waiting for?"

I shifted Nagi off my lap, and scrambled to my feet. "I'm ready." I smacked my left fist into my claw glove with an anticipatory grin on my face. "Let's teach these goons what it means to mess with one of Weiss."

Ran nodded, eyes narrowed. "How do we get there, Nagi? And what sort of defenses are we looking at?"

Nagi had forced himself to his feet, and was swaying slightly before us, a stubborn look on his face. "I'm going with you," he said, his tone brooking no argument. I gaped at him, and argued anyway.

"Are you kidding me? You can barely stand upright!" I objected. "You're in no shape to be..."

"I'm going with you," He said again, cutting me off. I could see in his eyes that he was deadly serious. "I won't tell you where it is unless you take me with you."

I floundered, unable to come up with a convincing argument in the face of his obstinence. Ran jumped in.

"Ken is right. If we're worrying about keeping you in one piece, we may make a mistake that costs Omi his life. We're wasting time now by arguing about it." I could see the words were making no impression on Nagi at all.

"I don't know how to set up the antidote," he said, his voice soft but firm. "Neither do you. In another hour, two at most, I'm going to lose control entirely. When it happens, I intend to be on Esstet grounds, not in a building full of innocent people." His words brought us all up short; in our concern for Omi, we'd forgotten entirely the very serious repercussions that would occur should he die.

He saw the realization in our eyes, and added, "I know most of Esstet's psychics on sight, and their powers. I can warn you what to watch for from any guards you might have to face. I also have access codes to get us in, that Omi and I hacked two days ago in preparation for raiding the lab with you. I may be a hindrance to you physically - but can you truly afford to attempt this without me?"

We were all silent for a few moments, debating with ourselves; then Ran, Youji and I exchanged glances. "Let's do it," I finally said, giving in to the inevitable. Nagi was right - we really had no option at all. I only prayed we'd be in time to save Omi.

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