Silence In Numbers: File One (14 page)

“Maybe he didn’t have time to prepare one?”

“Then why did he contact me in the first place?! He had all the time in the world to prepare, he chose the time I would come here!”

Sano ran a hand through his hair. “I guess it doesn’t make sense. Maybe we’re missing something.”

“That’s what’s bothering me.” Katsumi sighed. “Let’s get what we have back to HQ. We’ll see what our agents can do with this, maybe they can find him with this new information.” Katsumi looked back at the café, biting her lip quietly before moving to get into the car. She didn’t know what she was missing or what, exactly, was going on, and she didn’t like that at all. She really hoped that whatever she was missing wouldn’t result in more deaths that should have been prevented.

Katsumi laughed as Ayane lifted her hand as if she was holding something, talking through her own laughter. “And you were like ‘look, Aya, see, I totally caught this thing myself, we can do this!’ And what happened?”

Katsumi rolled her eyes. “It jumped out of my hands.”

“That’s right, it jumped out of your hands. And how many other fish did you catch that day?”

“None.”

“So I was totally right and you were wrong.”

“Fine, so you’ve proved it,” Katsumi smirked at her sister. “You’re right every once in a
while.”

“Hey! I said always! Do I have to give more examples?!”

“No, no, five is fine,” Katsumi chuckled, leaning back.

The two were sitting in the impressive gardens behind South Ashfield Hospital. To the delight of both of them Ayane was feeling great and thus able to sit outside on the grass for lunch. Katsumi had brought all kinds of food for them to gorge on which Ayane, obviously sick of hospital food by now, greatly appreciated and dove into. She was also dressed in more normal clothes which Katsumi had brought, wanting the day to be as lighthearted as possible.

Katsumi leaned back on her hands and looked over at her sister. “I hope the day comes when we can do this all the time,” she spoke softly. Ayane had the same mysterious affliction Katsumi had, but there was a difference: for Katsumi it tended to manifest in bursts of extreme pain, weakness, and loss of senses; at all other times, it was like nothing was wrong. For Ayane it was a more general, constant drain, a weakness that prevented her leaving the hospital for long, along with occasional bouts of pain.

Ayane looked over and smiled, tilting her head. “I know it will. We just have to hold on until then. We’ll both get fixed and then I can move back in with you instead of living in this stupid place.”

“I look forward to that.” Katsumi looked up at the sky. “I live in a small, cheap place right now. I’m saving everything I can so that I can get a larger place for us once you’re able to live with me. We’re going to have a lot of money to spend.”

Ayane studied her for a moment before moving to hug her. “Sumi… That means so much to me. I know how much you think about me and I… I appreciate it.”

Katsumi smiled and returned the hug. “It’s been you and me for decades. This hasn’t changed anything, just made it a bit more difficult for a while.”

Ayane shoved her down and lay against her, eliciting a laugh from her older sister. They both looked at the sky as she spoke. “It’s not so difficult. Still… I can’t wait until I’m back to living with you. I look forward to meeting the people you talk about. It’s weird that none of them besides Law know I exist.”

“The more people that know you exist, the more danger you’re in. Neither of us wants that.”

“I know, I know.” Ayane sighed. “And I agree. That’s why I look forward to being fixed.” She turned her head to look at Katsumi’s face. “You could tell one more of them, couldn’t you?”

Katsumi raised an eyebrow. “…Maybe. I’ll think about it.”

“Sano, right?”

Katsumi rolled her eyes. “I’ll think about it.”

Ayane smiled. “Thought so. He doesn’t sound like anyone would learn it from him.”

“I trust him, it’s just…”

“You have to be absolutely sure,” Ayane finished for her. “I know. Well I hope someone earns that level of trust from you because I’ve got all these great stories and no one new that knows you to share them with. Law’s already heard most of them!”

“On second thought, maybe it really is best no one else knows.”

“Sumi!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“HERE?!”

“Mmm.”

Reno grabbed the sides of his hair. “She’s coming here?!”

Lenora continued calmly stirring something in a pot, tasting it before adding more seasoning to it. “Mmm.”

Reno waved his hands wildly. “Why on earth is she coming here?! When?! How?! Who?!”

“You already know who.”

“I know, but it only sounds good if you include all the questions.”

“You forgot where.”

“Damn.”

Lenora looked back at her husband. “Where? Here. Who? Captain Samakura. When? In about…” She glanced at the clock. “Half an hour. Why? Well, several reasons. I want to get to know her, I want to thank her, and most importantly for today, it’s her birthday.”

“Yeah, I know, but she hates things having to do with her birthday. Trust me on that.”

“Everyone deserves something on their birthday. We’re not giving her anything, all we’re doing is inviting her for dinner. She can pretend it’s not for any occasion if she wants, but I don’t think she will.”

Reno raised an eyebrow. “Need I remind you of the party…”

“That was different. She doesn’t like to be the focus of people, right? You made her the focus of everyone she knew.”

Reno sheepishly looked away. “Yeah, that was dumb.”

“We aren’t making her the focus and there are only three of us. Besides, she needs this.”

“You don’t even know her.”

Lenora smiled. “Trust me, I can tell. I’m guessing she’d just disappear for today if someone didn’t make her come to something.”

Reno stared at her. “You
made
her?!”

“No, that’s the thing.  I called her this morning and only asked once. She agreed.” Reno blinked and Lenora pointed at him. “Think about that.”

“I just don’t want to get shot in my own house.”

Lenora rolled her eyes. “Honestly, you can be such a baby sometimes.”

Reno put both hands on his head. “I can’t help it I’m SCARED!”

Their five-year-old, Lianne, looked up at her father before putting both hands on her own head. “I’m SCARED!”

Reno pointed down at her. “Are you mocking me?!”

The little girl pointed back at him. “Are you mocking me?”

Lenora chuckled as Reno swept up the laughing little girl. “Oh, you’re gonna pay for that,

sister!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Katsumi sighed as she turned off the car, remaining in the seat for a little longer, enjoying the silence. Outside the window it was dark already, but the houses in this village were all pleasantly lit. It had a strong family feel to it, something Katsumi had never really understood. It didn’t suit her at all, but for some reason there was something about it that was a little comforting anyway. She glanced down at herself, hoping she was dressed alright; earlier, while getting ready, she’d realized the only “nice” clothing she had was military, so at the moment she had on a light formal version of her military uniform comprised of black pants with a silver stripe down the side and a long-sleeved black military jacket with silver buttons, a short collar, the Aegis Corp shield logo on one shoulder and the two silver bars denoting her rank of Captain on the other. It wasn’t as formal as the uniform she wore for specific situations, and it looked good with the jacket undone and a black shirt underneath. The smooth black color of the uniform made the violet of her hair stand out even further and she usually got compliments so it couldn’t be too bad.

She opened the door and climbed out of the car, shutting and locking it as she appraised the house in front of her. It was a nice two-story, neither small nor large, with yellow siding, white trim and white columns. There was a small front porch in front of the doorway, as well. Katsumi could almost imagine a white picket fence in front of it, if Lenora had that type of taste.

She approached the front door, finding and ringing the doorbell. This was the first time she’d been to this house but it had been easy to agree to coming. Lenora felt like a good friend to have, and besides that she was still waiting for their agents to get more information on her target anyway so she had nothing to do tonight. A home-cooked meal and unobtrusive company was a pretty hard deal to pass up, and a good enough distraction.

The door opened and Lenora smiled at her. “Captain Samakura! Welcome, I’m so glad you could come. Happy birthday! Please, come in.”

Katsumi stepped through the doorway. “Thanks. You don’t have to call me ‘Captain’.”

Lenora closed the door behind her. “Just Katsumi, then?”

“That’s fine.”

Reno waved at her with a grin. “Hey, Katsumi!”

She turned a glare on him. “
You’re
still part of my team.”

“Er, right, uh, hey, Boss.”

“You can use my name. I’m just saying don’t get used to it. On duty you use the proper terms.”

Reno smiled. “Right, got it.”

“Forget about duty for tonight,” Lenora interrupted. “This is a friendly family dinner, not a business meeting.”

Family dinner.
Katsumi couldn’t help but wish at that moment that she could bring her sister here. She looked at Lenora, nodding. “Of course. I’ll try to relax.”

“Excellent! Reno, show her to the table and I’ll get everything out. By the way, Katsumi, you look really nice.”

Katsumi blushed a bit, glancing over at her. “Thank you. Not as nice as you, obviously.” It was true, though Lenora was dressed in a far more feminine manner with a white blouse and skirt that worked well with her brown hair, which was currently curled over her shoulders. Katsumi didn’t think she even owned a blouse.

Lenora beamed at the compliment, figuring one probably meant more coming from Katsumi than from someone else.

Reno led Katsumi into the dining room, smiling at his five-year-old who was setting the table.

“C’mere Lianne, someone I want you to meet.” He picked up the girl, turning around. “This is Katsumi. She’s my boss.”

Lianne cocked her head and held out her hand. “Hi Kasmi!”

Katsumi smiled and shook the girl’s hand. “Katsumi. Like a ‘cot’.”

“What’s a cot?”

“It’s a bed. See…” She held up one finger. “Cot.” She held up a second finger. “Soo.” She held up a third. “Me.”

“Cot-soo-me?”

Katsumi smiled. “Right. Then you push it all together and say it as one word: Katsumi.”

“Katsumi!”

“There you go.”

The little girl held up a finger. “Lee.” Katsumi bit her lip and Reno snickered as she held up a second finger. “Ann.”

Katsumi nodded. “Lianne?”

“Uh-huh!”

“You have a very pretty name.”

“It’s from my grandmother.”

“You should be proud to carry a family name.”

Lianne beamed and Reno put her in her seat on the side of the table. He himself took one end and gestured to Katsumi to take the other as Lenora brought out the food, starting to set things on the table, though it took several trips. Katsumi raised an eyebrow at the food. “You didn’t have to go to so much trouble…”

Lenora smiled as she set down the last thing. “It isn’t trouble, honestly.”

Reno nodded. “She’s not kidding. Seriously. She loves making tons of food.”

“Really, I do.” Lenora took her seat beside her daughter on Reno’s end of the table. “Now, no more waiting, eat!”

They began putting food on their plates as Katsumi continued the conversation. “You have a very nice house.” She felt that if silence fell her mind wouldn’t be distracted anymore and would wander back to things that would make her a terrible guest. Tonight was, for her, about distractions.

Lenora smiled. “Thank you, I did most of it myself.”

“I think it shows. It practically screams family.”

Lenora laughed. “That’s the idea. What about you, does your home say anything?”

Reno became curious to see if he’d actually learn anything about his boss as she answered with a smirk. “I think calling it a ‘home’ is a bit of an overstatement. It’s just the place I sleep. If anything it says ‘this person doesn’t care’.”

“No, you didn’t strike me as the type of person to design or decorate. If you don’t care and you don’t care what others think, then it doesn’t matter, right? I’m guessing you’re more about practicality.”

Katsumi smiled. “Good guess. I keep the place intact and that’s about it; it’s barely even clean, although it’s… relatively alright. Until Sano comes by, at least.”

Reno blinked. “Sano gets to go in your home?!”

Katsumi looked at him. “He lives in the same building on the same floor. Like… Ten meters away.”

“Yeah, but I don’t recall ever being invited.”

“I don’t invite Sano, either. He shows up and lets himself in.”

“He has the code?!”

Katsumi shrugged. “It’s convenient… Most of the time.”

“How?!”