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Part 3 It felt distinctly weird to be looking across the sofa in the mission room at one of the Schwartz psychics, Ken decided, shifting uneasily. It had been Aya's suggestion that they go back to the Koneko and fill Nagi in on all the details of the serial murders. Youji and Ken had gaped at him for a moment, before finally nodding in agreement. Nagi was flipping through the photos now with no sign of emotion on his pale face, except the faint signs of worry and concern that had been there since he'd first heard about the killer. Ken wondered how the boy could stay so cool, looking at the evidence of that kind of violence. Some of his thoughts must have shown on his face when Nagi glanced up as he set the photos aside and reached for the coroner's reports. "I've seen worse," was all he said, and he shrugged and started reading the reports. Ken shuddered to think what Nagi's life must have been like, if this sort of thing seemed commonplace to him. Youji was pacing back and forth behind the couch, muttering to himself as he re-read the police investigations of the crime scenes. Aya was leaning up against one wall with his arms crossed over his chest, watching Nagi like he thought the boy was going to try to steal one of the folders or something. Ken just fidgeted in place, still trying to wrap his mind around the idea of Omi and Nagi sleeping together. Nagi's brows drew together in a frown, and he glanced up. "All the bodies have been bleached like this?" he asked. Aya nodded. "That's an awful lot of bleach, and he'd need some kind of industrial workshop to use and dispose of it safely. You could check manufacturers' records to see if there's been any purchases of industrial bleach that are big enough to cause note, but too small to be for an industrial process. Then cross-reference that with locations where he could be using it." Youji stopped pacing and stared at him. "Of course! That's obvious, why didn't we think of that before! So we just have to..." he turned towards the computer, then froze, shoulders slumping. "Shit. This is Omi's kind of stuff. I wouldn't even know where to start looking." "We should tell Manx, have her relay the information to the police so they can start checking," Aya suggested. Nagi made a derisive noise. "The police will need warrants to check this sort of thing. A separate one for each company. It will take days, maybe weeks. Omi doesn't have that kind of time." "Well, what do you suggest then?" Ken demanded. Nagi shrugged. "I could find it in an hour or two. But it will be difficult for me to do this with Schuldich around. My shields are good, but he might pick something up and get curious." "Could you use Omi's computer?" "Ken!" Youji protested. "That thing has all of Weiss' mission files on it, not to mention unrestricted access to Kritiker's computers!" The telekinetic rolled his eyes. "I could hack into Kritiker's computers any time I felt like it," he told them off-handedly. "In fact, I've done it a couple of times, just to prove I could. Their security is more challenging to break than most systems, which makes it more interesting. And I'm not going to see anything in your files that Schu wouldn't be able to get with one look into your heads." "You're bluffing," Aya said coldly. "If you four were really as powerful as you all keep claiming, you'd have beaten us long ago." Nagi gave him a 'boy, are YOU out of the loop' look. "We don't WANT to beat you," he said slowly, as if explaining something to a particularly inept child. "We're toying with you. You're amusing. And Brad says that we need you alive, though he won't tell us what for. Just that you have roles he needs you to fill." The idea that they were playing into Crawford's plans for them didn't sit well with any of them, but there wasn't much they could do about it. Finally the younger boy sighed and shook his head. "Look - it comes down to this. Which is more important to you - keeping your precious files safe from my eyes, or possibly finding Omi before he ends up as just one more set of photos in a police file?" His dark blue eyes were filled with fire. "I know what my choice is. If I have to, I'll do this alone." "You really care about him, don't you?" Youji asked in a kind of wondering tone. Nagi stiffened, and shot him a dirty look. "He's my FRIEND," he said in a dangerous tone of voice. "I know you all think none of us is capable of that kind of emotion, and in a way you're right. If this were anyone else, I wouldn't give a rat's ass what the killer did to them. I may not care about much, but what I DO care about, I'm loyal to. And yes, Omi falls on that very short list." There was a moment of silence, as the other three tried to think of something to say to that. Finally Aya nodded. "You're right. Omi is the priority here. Use our computer." Nagi rose and moved over to the computer in the corner. That weird feeling hit Ken again as the younger boy settled into the chair, taking Omi's accustomed place. The computer had already started booting up before he moved, and the main password screen came up. He hovered his hands over the keyboard, and looked back at them. "Do you know the passwords, or am I going to have to hack this?" Ken gave him the passwords, and the keys clattered. Nagi didn't move his hands from above them, just frowned slightly in concentration. In moments he was logged on and on the net, screens flying past so quickly Ken wondered how he could read them. It was fascinating to watch him working, see the keys move as ghostly fingers flew over them, watch his eyes shift back and forth across the screen so fast it was a wonder he didn't get dizzy. Finally, after about half an hour of work, the image on the monitor became static, and he leaned back in the chair. "This is it," he said quietly. The Weiss assassins crowded in behind him, looking at the list. "All the purchases of industrial bleach of approximately the right size in this area over the last four months." Thankfully the list was fairly short, only about twenty names. "I ruled out any that went to well-known corporations," Nagi said, "but I saved that list as well, in case these don't pan out. It's possible he bought the stuff long ago, of course, but there's no point in worrying about that yet." "What if he's been buying it a little bit at a time?" Youji asked. "That's included here as well. These three..." he hit a few keys, and three names were highlighted, "fall into that category. Also, these four..." more highlights in a different colour, "were shipped to residential areas, not industrial complexes." "It's after midnight," Youji said, glancing at the clock. "If we're going to start looking, now's the time." Aya nodded. Nagi stood. "I'm coming with you," he said quietly, his tone brooking no argument. Aya looked like he wanted to argue anyway, but Nagi cut him off with just a look. "You're short one person, and if you encounter any kind of security system, you're not going to be able to deal with it. I'm coming with you, and that's final." It wasn't worth arguing about, because he was right. The last thing they needed to be doing was dodging security guards all night because they'd tripped an alarm. Youji knew a bit about breaking and entering, but he wasn't anywhere near Omi's level of ability. "Let's go," was all Aya said, and they headed out. They checked the industrial complexes first, because they would be abandoned at this time of night, and they didn't want to have to deal with any innocents who might be asleep in the houses. Nagi had mapped out an approach that wasted the least time going from one side of the city to the other to get to the next site. By the time they'd thoroughly searched each building, it was nearly dawn. Nagi's powers had proved invaluable several times, moving heavy equipment out of the way or unlocking doors from the inside when there was no way to pick the lock. The White Hunters were beginning to believe some of the extravagant claims that Schwartz made about their abilities. There was nothing in the warehouses and labs, no trace of the sort of setup the killer would need. All of the bleach had been accounted for, and all of it had gone to legitimate purposes. Finally they were left with only the four residential addresses. "Do we do them now, or wait till later?" Ken asked, raking a hand through his hair as he stared over Nagi's shoulder at the considerably shortened list. Nagi shrugged. "Aren't you going to get in shit for being gone all night?" Youji asked the younger boy curiously. Nagi shrugged again, an oddly flat look in his eyes. "Crawford doesn't care what we do, as long as he doesn't see anything going majorly wrong because of it. It won't be the first time I've been gone for days at a time. Schu can reach me if they need me." Ken had to wonder what it would be like to work with a group of people that you knew cared nothing about you, except for your abilities. Small wonder Nagi had jumped at the chance for a friendship with someone like Omi. "People will be beginning to wake up right about now," Aya declared. "We wouldn't be able to get in to any of the houses. Our best bet is to wait for most of them to leave for work, and then break in." "Say, around ten in the morning?" Youji asked consideringly. Aya nodded. "Great. Well, then we've got just over four hours. What the hell do we do until then?" "Sleep?" Ken suggested, suiting actions to words by yawning. Youji instantly had to stifle a yawn of his own behind one gloved hand. "We're not going to do Omi much good if we're falling asleep on our feet. Though I doubt I'm going to sleep well, if at all, until he's back." "We might as well try to rest," Aya agreed. The last business they'd checked had been located only a few blocks from the Koneko, so thankfully they weren't very far from home. Nagi sighed, looking a little worn himself. "If you need me, I'll be in the park where we met," he said quietly, turning to walk away. Youji stopped him with a hand on his arm. "The park? Why are you going to the park?" Nagi looked up at him. "Because if I go back, Brad will find something for me to do, and he'll be pissed of if I don't do it right away. Or worse, he'll decide that I've skipped too much school lately and tell Schuldich to keep an eye on me to make sure I go." "You go to school?" Ken blurted, finding the idea a little strange. Nagi frowned at him. "When Brad makes me. Do you think I wear this stupid uniform for the fun of it? I don't see the point of it, but he says I need to have some education. What he thinks I'm going to learn there that I couldn't get twice as fast off the internet, I don't know." Aya shifted impatiently. "There's no point in your wandering around a park for four hours. You may as well come back with us. That way if something comes up, we won't need to hunt for you." Nagi blinked at him, and he looked a little surprised. "You're all being very accepting of me trailing along with you," he said quietly. "And much more accepting of my relationship with Omi than either of us expected. Why?" Surprisingly, it was Aya who answered him. "Because you obviously care for him," he said with an eloquent shrug. "Omi is generally a good judge of character, despite his tendency to see the best in everyone. If he trusts you this much, then I'm certainly not going to turn down your help, when it could make the difference between saving him and not finding him in time." Nagi stared at him, then turned away abruptly, and Ken could have sworn he saw the glimmer of tears in the other boy's eyes. He turned back nearly as quickly, and if there had been moisture there, it was gone now. Instead there was a look of grim determination on his face. "Fine. Consider it to be a truce between us until we find this bastard. But don't expect me to go easy on you the next time we meet in battle." He turned and walked away towards the Koneko, movements just the slightest bit stiff. "You know," Youji commented as he sidled up alongside Ken, "I don't think he's nearly as tough as he lets on. I was starting to think Omi'd lost it, going with someone like him, but..." Ken nodded. "I know. He really cares. It may be just about the only thing in the world he DOES care about, but he really cares. It's still freaking me out a little, about the two of them, I mean, but... I think Omi will be good for him." "And have you noticed that Omi's been a lot less depressed lately?" Youji said, making sure to keep enough distance between them and the telekinetic that he wouldn't be able to overhear their whispered conversation. "Since just about two months ago, actually... who knows, maybe he's been good for Omi!" "It wasn't good for him to be so alone," Aya said from behind them, surprising them both again. "He certainly never let any of us see what was really going on inside his head. If they make each other feel less alone, then it can only be a good thing." He strode past them, catching up to Nagi as Ken and Youji stared at each other, speechless.
They were all feeling at least a little better physically when they met again at ten o'clock in the mission room, if not mentally. Nagi had vanished into Omi's room with the hint of a blush on his face, and no one had said anything about it. It was certain Omi wouldn't mind him using his bed, and none of them were going to offer to share with the Schwartz psychic! They approached the first house on the list with far more caution than they'd treated the industrial sites. They all felt exposed and out of place in the bright daylight, moving through a residential area. Nagi had convinced them all to wear normal street clothes after much argument, pointing out that they'd stand out like sore thumbs in their dark mission clothing. He himself had shed his grey uniform for a pair of Omi's jeans and a t-shirt, saying that there was no point in drawing attention by being obviously skipping school. There was a beat-up but serviceable looking car in the driveway of the house, and Aya frowned. "Someone may still be at home," he muttered to the others. "How should we approach this?" Youji scratched his head. "We could say that we're university students, assigned a project to study... uh... the use of asbestos in construction, say. That's a pretty big issue right now. We chose random houses in certain subdivisions, based on the age of the building." Ken gave him an admiring look. "Sweet! That'll let us poke around all over the place! What if they won't let us in, though?" He shrugged. "Then we stake out the place and break in when no one's home and do it anyway. If he's home now, with any luck he works night shift or something." They made their way up to the doorway, and Youji rang the bell. There was no answer for several minutes, though they rang the bell a few more times, and even pounded on the door in case the bell was broken. "Looks like he's not home after all," Youji said cheerfully. He tried the knob, but the door was locked. "Nagi? Can you get this?" Nagi nodded and made a brief gesture at the door, and the knob turned smoothly under Youji's hand. They filed into the hallway. The house was small, and clearly had seen better days. It was clean but plain, the furniture shabby and worn. They moved quietly down the hallway, in case someone was at home and just hadn't answered the door. They fanned out quickly, each taking a room to search. It didn't take long - Ken cried out to the others in surprise when he came across a body sprawled out on the kitchen floor. The man's pulse was weak but steady, his breathing slow and even, and his eyes were rolled back into his head when Ken lifted the lids to check. He was unusually pale, and had shaven all the hair from his head. He was clearly a foreigner. Aya was the last one to join them in the kitchen "We've got our man," he said grimly. "There's a small sewing machine in the basement, and piles of fabric of the type used in the clothes on the victims. He's halfway through a new set, and it looks to be just about Omi's size. No sign of the bleach, though, and wherever he's been keeping the kids, it's not here." "He's in a coma, I think," Ken said, frowning. "We need to get him medical attention, fast! If he dies before we find out where he's got Omi hidden..." Youji was already moving for the phone on the wall. "How are we going to explain our presence?" Nagi asked. "We won't," Youji replied. "I'm calling Manx, not an ambulance." He turned away as the phone was picked up on the other end, and quickly outlined what had happened thus far. He nodded once, then hung up. "Manx is sending Kritiker's paramedics. They're going to put him up at the police hospital. She said we should wait here, in case he wakes up and tries to get away." They all looked at the man on the floor, praying that he would wake in time to tell them where Omi was.
Omi only half woke as the spray started again, turning on his stomach and burying his face in his arms. It was warm this time; the water had alternated randomly between freezing, lukewarm, and almost too hot to stand. There didn't seem to be any set pattern to when it would start and stop, either. So far it hadn't been anything but an annoyance, and he was tired enough now that he tried to sleep through it anyway. It was hard to sleep with water pouring down on you though, and finally he gave up. Yawning and scrubbing his eyes, he moved to sit up, and glanced down in surprise when his feet splashed as they hit the floor. His eyes widened as he saw that the water was ankle-deep, and rising. Glancing at the drain, he confirmed that there was no telltale swirl indicating the water was being drawn away. The drain was closed! He panicked for a moment, drawing his feet up onto the bench and hugging his knees to him as he struggled to control his breathing. The water was rising very slowly, and only half the jets were on. It would take a long, long time for the water to get to the point where it would fill the room. About two or three days, in fact... Omi shook his head frantically, and made himself calm down. "The toilet," he said aloud, glancing at the white porcelain object in the corner. "It'll act like a drain when the water gets that high." Of course, he could probably close that off, just as he had closed off the drain in the floor... He grunted, and smacked his head back against the tiled wall, letting the small pain distract him. "They'll find me. I know they'll find me. I'll be okay, I just have to hang on until they get here!" Standing, he sloshed through the shallow water to press up against the plastic wall, staring at the video camera on the other side. "Please," he whispered, lips barely moving. "Kami-sama, please let them get here in time..." | |
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