Silence In Numbers: File One (3 page)

The woman in the bed shared many similarities in appearance with Katsumi, most notably the non-standard hair color; hers was a very pale blue that was longer than Katsumi’s violet, falling to her waist. She was three years younger than Katsumi but looked far younger than her due to the fact that she had a soft, youthful appearance as opposed to Katsumi’s harder and sharper one. Katsumi reached over to gently take her hand and she blinked awake, her intense blue eyes focusing on Katsumi. She smiled brightly and sat up. “Katsumi! Shouldn’t you be chasing a ghost or something right now?”

“I’d appreciate you keeping your voice down seeing as how that’s supposed to be extremely top-secret.”

“Oh please, it’s not like anyone would believe I was serious if they heard.”

Katsumi grinned at her. “They might move you to the psych ward.”

The younger woman pouted. “Big sisters are supposed to be protective, not condemning! Did you come here and wake me up just to be mean?”

“Of course not.” Katsumi reached up to brush some hair from her sister’s eyes. “Speaking of waking you up, I didn’t intend to. You should go back to sleep, Ayane. You need rest.”

“All I get is rest.” Ayane smiled. “Besides, you know I wake up with too much energy to go back to sleep.”

“You never try.”

“That can’t be proven. Anyway, you’re rarely here at this hour. You have the day off?”

Katsumi’s smile faded into a frown. “A few days off until they figure out what we’re needed for.”

Ayane grinned. “You must be going crazy.”

“Not yet, but I might,” Katsumi said with a smirk. “Ask me again in a couple days. Can I just stay with you until the next job?”

“I would
love
that,” Ayane laughed, “but you’d go even crazier here; you know how you are about hospitals. Hey, maybe a big demon will attack and give you something to do!”

“Already happened,” Katsumi sighed. “Few hours ago. Short distraction.”

“Maybe there’ll be a bigger one.”

“Maybe there’ll be a whole swarm of them.”

“Or a swarm of them joining together into a giant one!” Ayane smiled at her older sister’s laugh. “Either way, I’ll annoy you more through the cyber link for the next few days. That should keep you sane.”

“Or drive me insane more quickly,” Katsumi said dryly.

Ayane gave her a petulant smile. “Depending on my mood, yes.”

Cyber links were expensive and dangerous implants available for anyone with a high enough CP and endurance to handle the implanting process. They allowed for one to contact someone else they shared a link with by transmitting directed thought. Normally they were reserved for special military operatives or covert spies, but Katsumi and Ayane had had them and shared a link for almost twenty years; they were far more used to using them than most people that had one, and they used it far more often. In recent years they’d come to appreciate it even more with Ayane stuck in the hospital and Katsumi in a demanding and dangerous job.

“How have you been feeling?” Katsumi looked over her sister, trying to gauge her condition.

“I’ve been alright. Fighting it as always.” Ayane eyed Katsumi. “What about you, Sumi?”

The elder sister looked away. “You know the answer to that as well as I do.”

Ayane’s eyes saddened. “I worry about you a lot. You know how dangerous it is, doing what you do. I always worry it will hit while you’re in the middle of something insane.”

Katsumi smiled softly at her. “I’ll be fine. I have a great team, they can cover for me if it does happen.”

“But none of them would expect it. They have no idea.”

“Just… Let me do things my way, okay?”

Ayane sighed. “Alright, Sumi. Just remember, since I can’t kill you if you die on me, I’ll speak at your funeral and tell everyone every story I have about you.”

“You know I’ll haunt you.”

“I enjoy your visits.”

“You’re a pain, Aya, you know that?”

“We both know I’m immune and an exception to your whole ‘RRRGH I’m tough and cold FEAR ME’ thing, so don’t even try it!”

Katsumi chuckled. “Fine. I
will
be careful, but only for you. I’ll get out of the situation if I feel it coming on, okay?”

“Thank you. You have no idea how much better that makes me feel.”

“It better.”

“You act like taking care of yourself is such a big problem.”

“There are more important things to take care of.” Katsumi smiled at her.

After another two hours of talking the nurse seemed to get a bit impatient with them, obviously wanting her patient to get back to sleep. Katsumi stood and kissed her sister’s forehead. “I’ll visit you again tomorrow, since I have the day off.”

“Wow, more than your usual twice a week? You’re really spoiling me, Katsumi.” Ayane smiled.

Katsumi returned the smile and squeezed her hand. “I’m trying to.”

Katsumi left the hospital and bought cigarettes on her way back to the train station, figuring she’d need them if she was going to survive the next few days. She lit one and stepped onto the train, leaning her head back and closing her eyes for the return trip. As she grew closer to home she let out a breath of smoke, opening her eyes and staring at the ceiling of the train car. The grating of the wheels, the churning of the engines and the rush of air outside all seemed to get louder in her ears as she sat there. She could feel a headache coming on and at the moment she was just grateful no one was there who saw her as a leader. Random people on the train, that was all.

She forced herself up as the train finally came to a stop, focusing on balance as she walked through the car, exiting and heading away from the station and down the street. The edges of her
vision were already starting to swim a bit, and by the time she got to her building she’d already lost the cigarette, though she couldn’t remember the specific instance of dropping it. Pain was now rising through her body and drawing her focus inward, preventing her noticing outside details like that.

She pushed through the doors of the Culsor Apartment Building, ignoring the greeting of the attendant at the front desk and moving directly to the elevator. Grateful that the elevator she entered was empty she hit the button for the 67th floor, dropping to sit and not of her own volition. Putting a hand to her forehead Katsumi tried to focus, listening for the ding signifying the elevator’s arrival at her floor. When it came and the doors opened she sat there for a full minute with both vision and sound swimming.
Almost there… C’mon Katsumi, stand the hell up.
After a few seconds she gripped the metal bar inside the elevator, pulling herself up and focusing on moving each foot alternately.

Reaching room 6711, she put her hand on the door and it unlocked, allowing her to stumble in and fall to the floor. She heard the door click shut behind her and decided that making it into the room was good enough. The bed, sitting a few feet away in the very small, shabby and currently unlit apartment, seemed like too far a goal to her at the moment. She couldn’t even be sure which way was up so lying on the floor would have to do. Finally vision and hearing faded completely and she felt lucky as she fell into the darkness, leaving conscious thought behind.

“Stop what you’re…” “D-don’t, y… at you’re doing…” “…acceptable.”

Katsumi wasn’t sure if she was breathing. She certainly couldn’t move. It took all her will just to curl up on her side, her fingers gripping at the carpet as her mouth remained open in a silent gasp, her eyes clenched tight in agony. Pain wracked her body as something else assaulted her mind, images and sounds rushing through her brain. A distant voice said they might be memories but it was impossible to tell. They didn’t come one at a time but all at once, joining and mashing together in a maelstrom of confusion and a storm of rapidly shifting emotions. She never got a chance to recognize one, or even understand. Her mind couldn’t focus on any one thought.

This is… wasting the remains… would you please consider… think about our future… when is it time… see her face… unarmed… this is against… won’t be a part anymore… LISTEN TO ME… LISTEN…

Sweat made her hair stick to her cheeks and forehead and the lone thought she was able to bring up was a hope that it would end as long as she could hold on. Her nerves were on fire and her body shook under the pressure. Time had long been gone; she assumed she’d been lying there for days, but it could have been hours or maybe minutes. Ideas such as time were beyond her grasp for the moment, leaving her stuck in the tormenting darkness. She reached out for the one source of understanding she knew existed, the one comfort possible in this situation:
Ayane…

Katsumi?
Her sister’s voice replied quickly.
You sound horrible…

Lots of… pain…
Katsumi fought to organize her thoughts enough to speak over the link.

It’s hitting you now, isn’t it?
Ayane’s voice was sad.
Where are you?

I got to… home… my place… thankfully… It hit me… this morning? Whenever I got back… I passed out… through the door… inside. Home…

You’ve been out for twelve hours?!

I… guess so? I can’t figure out the time… It’s hard to think because… Now it’s doing that… voices thing… Memories? I can’t… remember… Think I hear…

Oh no… Okay, focus on my voice, Sumi. Only on mine. Focus on my words and ignore all the others.
Katsumi shut her eyes, blocking out all but her sister’s words.
Follow me back to reality…

Eventually, very eventually, it began to subside. Katsumi felt herself take a breath for what must’ve been the first time in hours, a ragged gasp. Every joint and muscle burned as she started
by moving a finger, slowly releasing her death grip on the carpet. Her thoughts began to sort themselves out.
Thank you, Aya… I don’t know what I’d do without you.

I’m just glad you come to me, Sumi. Take care of yourself… Don’t go anywhere tonight, okay?

Even in her current state Katsumi smiled.
I won’t.

A knock came on her apartment door, but it was still distant, her vision and hearing returning but still swimming as she opened her eyes. She pressed her hand to the ground, pushing with all her willpower just to sit up, but it felt like a boulder sat on her back. Another knock came but she ignored it, sitting on her knees and crawling to the bathroom, vomiting into the toilet.

“Boss? C’mon, it says you’re home, can’t fool me.”

Katsumi recognized Kurasano’s voice but the best she could do right now was rest her forehead on her arm on the edge of the toilet, close her eyes and silently curse his timing.

“Alright, fine, I’m coming in. If you aren’t decent that’s just your own fault!”

She tried to tell him to leave and not come in but speaking was still beyond her ability. In her mind’s eye she willed the bathroom door to shut, but to her disappointment she didn’t spontaneously gain psychic powers right at that moment. Sano lived in the same building on the same floor as she did and they’d exchanged key codes for simple convenience, such as getting something the other person forgot. At this moment, though, Katsumi was regretting the decision.

The door slid open and Sano stepped through. He was surprised by the darkness of the apartment; it was 10 PM, Katsumi had obviously been home for over twelve hours, surely she’d had plenty of time for a nap. He noticed the bathroom door was open and saw her sitting inside, her head on the toilet seat, and suddenly things made more sense. “You sick, Captain? Stomach virus seems a little odd for you. Survive an explosion and get brought down by the flu?”

He expected a sharp retort and possibly a death threat, but instead Katsumi just turned her head slowly to glare over at him. Her eyes were red-ringed and bloodshot, and the color of her skin certainly wasn’t normal either. On top of that he noticed she was still in her combat suit, meaning she apparently hadn’t changed since the night before. “Whoa… Sama what the hell happened to you?”

“Captain… Sama,” she managed to croak out, her voice not completely answering her will. She sat back against the wall, closing her eyes as a dull pounding rang through her head.

“Right, sorry… Still, it looks-“

“Shut up, Sano…”

“Should I call some-“

“I’m fine.”

Samakura’s lavender eyes locked on him and Sano got a very unwelcome feeling, as if he was right on the verge of going from friend to hated enemy somehow. It felt like he was very close to losing Katsumi’s friendship forever if he did just one thing wrong. He didn’t understand it at all, didn’t have any answers, but he knew enough to shut up and not push the issue. Instead he shrugged and sat down against the wall across from her, watching her but looking down at the floor when she shot him another glare. They sat in silence like that for ten minutes. Sano kept stealing glances but Sama didn’t give him another look. She continued to stare at the floor, unmoving. If he didn’t know better he’d swear she’d forgotten he was there.

He wanted to ask what the problem was, or what was with her reactions to him, or why she was suddenly so distant and serious. Something told him he wouldn’t get an answer but a dismissal, and it wouldn’t be something he’d easily recover from. There were sensitive issues, sure, everyone had them, but what was so bad that even acknowledging it could cause hatred towards him? He’d come to ask if she wanted to get something to eat, assuming she’d be bored, but it didn’t seem like an understanding thing to do at the moment.

Then again… Samakura didn’t seem to want to talk about things right now, if ever. He shifted his thoughts away from how he’d handle normal people and adapted them to fit his unique Captain. Pretending like he hadn’t noticed anything different would probably be a good idea, after all acknowledging weakness or any problems had never been Sami's strong suit. Sano looked up, running a hand through the short crimson spikes of his hair. “So yeah, I’m surprised you didn’t shoot me for barging in uninvited, but I figured you’d be bored. Wanna let me make it up to you by ordering some food or something?”

Katsumi seemed to drift out of her thoughts and back to reality, running through his words. She gave him a look that he swore was grateful, though of course there was no way she’d ever say it. “You do owe me.”

Sano grinned. “What, for me barging in here or for you keeping me from hitting the pavement last night?”

Katsumi scoffed softly, looking back at the floor. “Barging in. It’ll take a lot more than food to pay back saving your life.” Her voice was still distant and distracted, but at least it wasn’t angry.

“You also told me to jump.” He stood up and was about to offer her a hand up before he thought better of it and pulled out his phone, leaving the room to call for food.

Katsumi sighed, psyching herself up for a few moments before managing to pull herself to her feet, focusing on balance and slowly making the way to her closet to finally change out of her mission outfit. Fortunately Sano hadn’t made any comment on that, and she trusted that he probably wouldn’t bring the situation up with anyone else, but she dreaded him asking about it in the future. It was almost guaranteed that he would eventually. Still she wished that, somehow, he’d forget about it. Maybe- if she was lucky- he’d at least think it was a one-time thing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Yee-ha!” Reno leapt out of the company helicopter that had delivered him to the small Tesoro Village, unable to wipe the grin from his face as he waved to the pilot before jogging off down the street. It was already late but he had wanted to make sure he’d have the week off guaranteed, uninterrupted. His grin widened once he reached the house he felt he never spent enough time at. Entering the door he spotted his beautiful wife Lenora, catching her in surprise and pulling her into a kiss.

The brunette woman laughed at the end of it, resting her arms on his shoulders. “You should greet me like that more often. What’s with the excitement?”

“I’m just an exciting person. And aren’t you lucky? You get me for an entire week!”

Lenora flashed him a smile. “A week? They’re actually letting you go for more than a day?”

“Better believe it. Where’s my other angel?”

“She went to bed, reluctantly, but you should wake her.”

“I was planning to either way.” Reno grinned and kissed his wife again before heading to his five-year-old daughter’s bedroom, opening the door. “Liaaaaanne…”

The little girl stirred, sitting up and rubbing her eyes before they opened fully as she suddenly raised her arms. “Daddy!”

Reno swept her up, kissing her blonde head and spinning in a circle before lowering her to look at her face, pulling off his shades and sticking them on her. “Why’re you sleeping, huh?”

Lenora stood in the doorway, shaking her head with a smile as their daughter pointed at her. “Mommy made me!”

“Mean old Mommy, huh?” He grinned, catching his wife’s look. “Uh, I mean, good girl for obeying her. But we have more important things to do right now, I’m here for a week and we’re taking advantage with some family time!”

“Yay! Do we get to play games?”

“Pff, what’s more important than games?”

Lenora raised an eyebrow. “School? Learning? Life experience?”

“Laaaaaaaaaaaame,” Reno rolled his eyes as Lianne nodded in agreement. “Games are the most important life experience. School can be done when I’m at work and not here spreading large amounts of awesome around.”

Lenora knew better than to argue and agreed with him anyway as she took a seat on the couch, soon joined by her husband and daughter. Reno set the little girl down between them as she asked about his work. “Were you a hero Daddy?”

“Ha! Was I?! I won the night! I even saved Captain Sama’s life! Lemme tell you about my skill…”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

M watched with his trademark ever-present smile as his window shimmered, becoming a view screen upon which an older man with salt-and-pepper hair appeared. The man had a strong bearing that commanded respect, but that didn’t seem to affect M. He didn’t even take off his hat or glasses to greet the Chairman of his company; he just kept that same damn smile on his face. “Chairman Hackett, I’ve been waiting for you to contact me.”

“Are you dissatisfied with my punctuality, M?”

M’s smile widened. “I didn’t say anything.”

Joseph Hackett sighed. He hated dealing with this man, but it was necessary. “I understand you acquired the disc we asked for.”

“My team did, yes. I’ve sent it in for processing, research and analysis. Our next move will be determined based on its contents.”

“Your next move will be determined by me, Director.”

M responded with a grin. “Of course.”

Hackett waited for further confirmation but all he received was a continual smile. He shook his head. “Just be sure to forward all findings to me before making any decisions. Understood?”

“I wouldn’t think of undermining you, Chairman.”

“I didn’t say anything about…” Hackett grimaced. “I’m done dealing with you, Director. Get back to work and bother me when you have results.”

The screen cut off and M chuckled to himself, looking out the window. “You aren’t nearly finished dealing with me, Chairman Hackett. You’ll know when you’re finished, and you’ll be far more than annoyed when it happens.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Katsumi’s apartment was small, a lot smaller than she could probably afford with her pay, but she never seemed to mind. At the moment it was as trashy as always with clothing and junk spread over the little space there was on the floor and counters. The apartment really only had two rooms, a kitchen and a bedroom/living room, plus the small bathroom, so the only seating was a couch with a table in front of it and a TV on the other side of the table. Katsumi and Kurasano were both sprawled back on the couch with their feet on the table next to the remnants of their ordered food, watching the flickering screen in the dark.

Katsumi had changed into simple shorts and a half-shirt, getting as comfortable as possible while Kurasano had remained in his suit, though the whole suit was ruffled and uncared for now. Katsumi picked a piece of popcorn from the far-too-large bowl between them, popping it into her mouth as she pointed at the screen, watching a man in a terrible-quality horror movie running from the camera. “That guy’s so dead. That camera’s killed four people so far.”