Joking 19
Almost finished! I don't know about anyone else, but I am eager for closure. Just two more chapters to go. (I have two follow-ups in mind; we'll see if I ever get around to writing them.)
I am sick, sick, sick, and feeling a wee bit sorry for myself. It's all because I went to a children's Halloween party at a preschool last week. There were thirty or so kids, and so many germs you could almost see them massing and plotting their attack. (grumble mutter) But no matter how sick I am tomorrow, I'm going to vote!
Story: You’re Joking, Right?
Chapter: 19
Author: Kinukitty
Rating: R
Word count: 3,900
BTW: Weiss Kreuz is owned by Project Weiss, etc.
STORY SUMMARY: Aya's a mess. Yoji doesn’t know what’s going on but decides to take charge of the situation anyway -- however, the situation seems to be taking charge of him. Violent sex in previous chapters (but not this one). Also just violence. Head games and plot kinks. AU. Previous chapters are here.
Yoji sat down in the chair and finished off Aya's whiskey. He pulled the tiny computer drive from his pocket and stared at it. Aya had told him to call for a pickup if anything happened to him. Yoji wasn't sure if Aya would still want him to do that, since Aya was going to wake up and could take care of it himself. There might be a time element, though. And Yoji wanted to know. He picked up the phone and hit redial.
Someone answered on the first ring. "Ran?" The voice sounded restrained but still anxious. It was a man who spoke good Japanese but had an American accent. You could tell a lot from just one word, if you were listening.
And - Ran? Was that Aya's name? He had to have one.
"No."
"Ah." Disappointed. "Mr. Kudoh, then."
"Yeah. Sorry about that."
"Do you have the files?" All business now, but still strained, ever so slightly.
"Yeah. He told me to call for a pick-up. If anything happened to him."
There was a long pause. "I see." Yup - definitely upset. Good at hiding his emotions, but too distressed to pull it off completely. Didn't sound like a strictly business relationship. Although why he'd expect Aya to be capable of that, he had no idea.
"I'll send someone over." The words were clipped - definitely overcompensating.
"Don't you want to know what happened?"
Another long pause. "No. I don't require any details."
Cold bastard. Aya could pick 'em. Before he hung up, Yoji couldn't resist taking a wild shot, to see if it would hit anything. "It took too long to get all the files. He was just finishing when they hit him."
"You have all the files, then?" Tight as a tourniquet.
"Yeah. Come and get them." Yoji hung up. He didn't like his odds, bargaining with this one. Maybe he'd have better luck with whoever came over. And he could always call back.
Yoji looked over at Aya and felt a surge of pity. Yoji felt sorry for himself sometimes, with all his empty affairs, but Aya - desperate for someone to love him and letting himself go cheap to men like Farfarello and that bastard on the phone - that was tragic.
Now he just had to sit back and wait for another piece of Aya's puzzle to fall into place. Yoji went over to the futon and perched on the edge, brushing Aya's hair off his face. It was wet with sweat. "You'll be all right, baby. I'll take care of you." Aya's eyelashes fluttered. "You waking up? You're going to be all right. How do you feel?"
Aya opened his eyes. They wavered, never focused, then closed again. He inclined his face toward Yoji's hand, and Yoji stroked his cheek. "Talk to me, baby. How do you feel?"
"How do you think I feel?" Aya muttered. His words were a little slurred.
"Like hell, I'd imagine. Need some water?"
Aya grunted, which Yoji took as a yes. He fetched a glass and sank back onto the futon with it. Sliding his arm under Aya's shoulders, Yoji carefully lifted Aya's head. Between the angle and Aya's lack of coordination, about half of it spilled, but Aya didn't seem to care.
"What happened?" Aya finally asked.
"What do you remember?"
Aya's brow furrowed in concentration. "Files."
"Yeah. We got them. I just called for the pickup." Apparently that was all right, too. Yoji shook his head. Nothing about what had happened to him or how badly he was injured - just the files. "You got shot. In the chest. We're at your apartment, and you're going to be all right."
Aya seemed to be having trouble following that. "You got me out?"
"You didn't think I'd leave you, did you?"
"I told you to."
"Yeah, well, I'm not completely whipped."
The puzzled expression was priceless.
"How?"
"I picked you up and carried you out." Yoji kept his tone light. "There's one thing, though. That you aren't going to like."
Aya frowned and opened his eyes. They were cloudy and still not focused. His eyelids kept drifting shut on their own, and he finally gave up the effort.
Yoji wiped the sweat from Aya's forehead. "I called Ken. He found a doctor for me. He's out now, getting rid of the truck and picking up supplies."
The eyes flew open, and now Aya looked much sharper. "Ken? Yoji, what the fuck? We can't -"
"Shut up. I couldn't think of anything else to do. I couldn't take you to a hospital."
"I told you -"
"No. Aya, we took out the target and got all the files. We did the job. But whatever you're involved in, it isn't more important than you are."
Aya snorted. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Whose fault is that? But I don't care what it is. Losing you wasn't an option. We'll work it out from here. And there's nothing you can do about it anyway." Yoji kissed him. "You are more important, Aya."
Aya's face scrunched up as if he were in pain, and Yoji checked to make sure he wasn't squishing him, and that the bandages looked clean. When he looked up, he realized Aya was crying. "Oh, baby," he whispered, holding Aya loosely, one hand stroking his stringy hair. "Go to sleep, OK? I've got this. I'm going to take care of everything. Just rest and let me take care of you." He could tell when Aya fell asleep; the lines of pain around his eyes and mouth relaxed.
Yoji lay there, holding him, letting his mind drift. He had no idea how he was going to keep his promise, but he would. And although Aya was going to be pissed as hell when he woke up fully, Yoji didn't regret bringing Ken in. He couldn't do this without Ken.
The door swung open, and someone walked into the room - Yoji hadn't heard a thing. Must be the pickup. Yoji didn't bother to move, since the other option was that Esszet or Kritiker had found them, which would mean they were dead anyway. Yoji looked over his shoulder lazily. "Evening," he drawled.
A well-dressed man stood in the doorway. He was good-looking, although his ugly businessman glasses somewhat marred the effect. Yoji narrowed his eyes. This was one of the men he'd fought at the warehouse. At least he wasn't wearing the white suit now. Well, then; Yoji's theory had been just about on the mark. Aya might not exactly work for Schwartz, but close enough. The man was staring, visibly shocked. He covered it up in an instant, though. "He's alive," Oracle said.
Yoji let go of Aya and carefully got off the futon. "I want some information."
Oracle looked at him as if he'd found half a cockroach in his salad, then drifted toward Aya like he couldn't help himself. He sank to the edge of the futon and gingerly touched Aya's hand.
Yoji wanted to kill him. His fingers twitched with the need to draw the wire and pull it tight around this man's neck.
"Ran," Oracle whispered, taking Aya's hand and kissing it. "You made it."
Aya's eyes snapped open. He looked around the room, panicky, trying to orient himself. Then he looked at Oracle. It wasn't one of Aya's more impressive glares - he was, after all, drugged and tired and in pain - but it wasn't bad. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to pick up the files."
"Why did you come yourself?"
"I don't know," Oracle said quietly. "Ran, when he called me, I thought… I was bereft." He cleared his throat. He seemed to be about to say more, but then he glanced at Yoji and fell silent.
"Are you going to get me out of this?"
Oracle stared at the wall as if he saw something there. Finally, he shook his head. "I can't. I'm sorry. Nothing has changed."
Aya jerked his hand out of Oracle's, his face twisting in rage. "Take the God-damned files and get out of here."
"Ran -"
"Can you fix this with Kritiker?"
Oracle hesitated. "Ran. I told you that you were on your own. We can't be involved." He sounded as if he were trying to explain something to a small child.
"Then we've completed our transaction. Talk to Yoji, and go." Aya turned his face away, closing his eyes against more tears and hating it.
Oracle stood up and straightened his shoulders, wiped the wrinkles from his suit. Hugo Boss, looked like. His face was completely impassive as he approached Yoji. "The files, please."
"He works for you?"
"Mr. Kudoh, you're hardly in a position to bargain with me for intel."
"I wasn't bargaining. I was asking."
"You were demanding. Or attempting to. If you think I wouldn't kill you and simply take what I came for, you've misread the situation."
No, Yoji hadn't misread the situation at all. He glanced over at Aya, who hadn't moved. He wasn't intervening - Yoji wondered what that meant. "No, I get you," he said, pulling the canvas bag from under the chair. "Here. Sorry about the blood." He looked pointedly at a large, brownish smear. "Got a little messy when I was saving his life."
Oracle didn't react, just took the bag. "And the drive, please," he said, glancing at Yoji's pocket.
Yoji handed it over without another word. He wasn't going to get anything out of this big swinging dick anyway, and Aya obviously wanted him gone.
Apparently Oracle felt the same. He nodded condescendingly and left without looking back.
Yoji relocked the door and went back to Aya. He didn't move or make a sound, but tears rolled down his face and onto the sheets. Yoji put his arms around him, carefully, trying not to jar him too much. He lay behind Aya, face buried in his hair, stroking his cheek. "I'm sorry, baby."
Aya made a wet, snuffling noise. "About what?"
"About him."
"You don't know anything about it," Aya said sullenly.
"Here's what I know about it. You love him. You did this for him. And you almost died, and he isn't going to help you." Yoji put his fingers over Aya's lips. "Ssshh." He held Aya until he fell asleep again.
Yoji drifted off himself and was awakened by Ken's quiet knock. "'S Ken," he muttered to Aya, who'd started but hadn't fully woken up. "I'll get it. Go back to sleep." He disentangled himself from Aya and the filthy sheets and staggered to the door.
Ken brought in several large bags, one of which was takeout. Yoji grabbed the food and set it on the counter. Setting everything down, Ken looked over at Aya. "How's he doing?"
"He's…" More fucked up than I'd even realized. Yoji ran his hand through his hair. "He seems OK. Can't stay awake, but he doesn't seem feverish, and he isn't bleeding."
Ken nodded. "I brought supplies. Food, clothes. More bandages. Yeah, and cigarettes."
"Where'd you drop the truck?"
"Not far from the store. I cleaned up the blood and wiped it down for prints. I hope you wore gloves in the house. Who knows what kind of resources these people have."
Yoji nodded. "Com on, Ken. We're professionals."
Ken gave him a dark look. "There isn't any word out about it yet, as far as I can tell. So at the moment, the only one you have to worry about is Omi. Which is bad enough. Do you have a plan? Aya can't just go back to work tomorrow like nothing happened."
"I was sort of hoping you could help me with that, too."
"Sure. I have to turn some water into wine at eight, but I should have the morning free after that." Ken shook his head in disgust. "Did you talk to Aya's people?"
Yoji sighed. "Nothing coming from them. I was thinking we could make Omi think Aya and I ran off together. You could tell him you tried to stop us, but we wouldn't listen, and you figured it would be better for us to just get it out of our systems. Then we could come back in a week or so, whenever Aya's well enough to fake it. That's plausible, right?"
"What's even more plausible is that Omi would put it together and figure out you had something to do with that assassination. The timing is too suspicious. He's going to find out about what you did."
"But why would we do it? He doesn't have any reason to link us to it."
"Maybe, maybe not. I can't believe he wouldn't make the leap. And even if he didn't, he might send somebody after you anyway. I don't know how clean the trail is on Aya's apartment, but even if Kritiker couldn't find it on paper, you drove the truck here. If he looks hard enough, he'll find you."
"It's a big fucking city, Ken."
"They'll get the word out. Offer enough money, and someone's going to remember seeing something." Ken frowned. "Same goes for your new enemies. If you stay here long enough, someone will find you. You might get a week, or more. Or you might not." He glanced at Aya. "I'd hate to risk it. He's not going to be at full power for a long time."
Yoji sighed. He'd already worked all of that out for himself, but hearing Ken say it made it final. "We could actually run, but he needs a few days, anyway, before we could leave."
Ken nodded. "I think we need to tell Omi."
Alarmed, Yoji looked over at Aya, but he seemed to be asleep again. "How do you figure that?"
"We need his protection. If Aya's people won't back him, we have to find somebody who can deflect Kritiker, at least. I could approach him, if you want. Tell him everything, and bring him over here. He might go for it, if he gets to be the hero and save everybody. Aya might have to cut a deal, though." He gave Yoji a penetrating look. "And you are going to be in the dog house for the rest of your life."
"You really think Omi can handle this?"
"If he will. And he might. I think he'd love to get a leash on Aya."
"Why? He hates Aya. I thought he wanted to get rid of him. This would be the time, right?"
"He doesn't want to get rid of Aya. Or he can't; I don't know. Whatever. He has a lot of incentive not to cut him loose. We're Omi's team. It looks kind of bad that he didn't know what Aya was doing and let this happen." Ken shrugged. "Plus, I'd kind of suspected Aya didn't have the same deal with Kritiker as the rest of us. Well, you and me, anyway. He has more freedom. This is Omi's chance to take it away."
"How do you know so much about Omi, anyway, Ken?"
"I told you, I just pay attention. You ought to stay home more. You're missing a lot."
No shit. "I don't know what Aya's going to say about this."
"If Aya jumped off a cliff, would you just jump off after him? Oh, wait - I guess you would." Ken might be able to look more disgusted, but it would take some effort. "Wake him up, Yoji. We have to figure this out. Now."
"He's kind of out of it, Ken."
"He'll manage. I have to know what we're going to do before I go home, and no way am I spending the night here. Wake him up."
Ken was right. That sucked, but what could you do? Yoji lay down on the futon and gently shook Aya's shoulder. "Wake up, baby. We need to talk."
Aya's eyes flew open, then drifted shut almost immediately. Yoji jostled him again. "Come on, Aya. It's important." May as well kill two birds with one stone. "Ken's here. He thinks we need to bring Omi in on it." That ought to wake him up.
His eyes drifted open again, dull with pain, then sharper with annoyance as he started processing Yoji's words. "No fucking way." It ran together a little but was easy enough to understand.
Ken sat on the edge of the futon, where he could see Aya's face. "If you have a plan that'll work, I'll go with it." His tone was surprisingly gentle. "Look, Aya - Yoji brought you here in the truck. They'll trace it here eventually, Kritiker or the other people. You can't stay here long. You need to go home and establish an alibi. If Omi says there's nothing unusual going on, Kritiker won't question it. This place can't be traced to you, right?"
Aya shook his head, obviously thinking hard. Obviously displeased. He saw the logic. Eventually, he said, "Just leave me supplies and get out. Both of you. I should have a few days, at least. I'll take my chances."
Oh, no, he fucking well wouldn't. Yoji started to say so, but Ken beat him to it.
"Aya, it might work with the other group, but not with Kritiker. They know you're a wild card, and someone with inside information kills this agent, and you disappear for a week? Come on." Ken looked up at Yoji, worried. "He must have bled all over the place."
"Mostly on one rug. I got rid of it on the way over here, and I cleaned up the rest."
"Security footage?"
"I wiped the system," Aya said.
"You're sure there wasn't a backup?" Ken asked.
Aya frowned. In his current state, it appeared that his lower lip was dangerously close to quivering. "Yes," he said. "I'm sure."
Ken nodded. "OK. Anybody left alive to ID you?"
Yoji nodded. "A couple of guards at the gate. We were wearing hats and uniforms, and they didn't see us for long. I don't think they could give much of a description."
Ken thought about it, nodded again. "Yeah. Smooth. Too bad you didn't have a contingency plan for getting shot."
"I did," Aya said quietly. "Dying."
Grinning, Ken said, "Yoji just couldn't leave well enough alone, could he? Well, you're alive, man. Although I'll bet you'll wish you weren't by the time Omi's through with you."
"I'm not cutting a deal with Omi." Aya looked churlish and sulky.
Instead of the explosion Yoji was expecting from Ken, there was - nothing. Ken just sat there, looking at Aya sympathetically. "Look, Aya, I don't blame you, OK? I'll even help you run, if that's what you decide to do. Just - look. You're in no shape to get away now. Live to fight another day, right?"
"I can't give him my backer, Ken."
Ken paused. "Your backer apparently doesn't have any qualms about giving you to Omi." When Aya looked away, Ken added, more gently, "Omi won't like that, but we can still make it work. You'll have to sell your soul to him, but - well, at least this way, you can get Yoji off the hook."
"Ken," Yoji said warningly.
Ken gave him the "we both know this is the only way" look. Yoji still wasn't sure it was, but damned if he'd come up with anything yet that didn't end with Aya dead, more likely than not. "Aya, don't worry about me." He couldn't help saying it.
"Yoji's fine. Just go home, both of you. Pretend you don't know anything about it. I'll figure out the rest."
No way in hell was Yoji going home and leaving Aya to fend for himself. "Aya, you can't do this by yourself."
"I just need to sleep for a day or two. If you want to help me, Yoji, tell Omi we had a fight and I left. Tell him I'll get over it and come back in a few days. I still have a few cards to play, all right? And if I do cut a deal with Kritiker, it's not going to be with Omi." Aya looked into Yoji's eyes. "I'd rather die, and I mean it."
Looking from Aya to Yoji, Ken stood up. "OK. I'm going home. I went out drinking tonight after my game. I never saw either one of you. Yoji?"
"I'm not leaving," Yoji said stubbornly. Aya was not shutting him out now, God damn it.
"Yes, you will." Aya had that look on his face. Even though he was badly injured and drugged to the gills, it was impossible to ignore that look.
"You could spend the night, Yoji. Make sure he seems OK in the morning." Ken forced a smile. "Nobody's going to think twice about you showing up in the middle of the morning, looking like dog meat."
"I never look like dog meat. Maybe a bit - louche - but always hot." Yoji turned to Aya. "OK. Maybe. If you look bad in the morning -"
"You can stay tonight, but you're leaving in the morning, no matter how I look. I could take care of myself before I met you, and I can take care of myself now."
That hurt more than it should have. "All right, I get it." Yoji kept his tone casual. "I'll see you in the morning, Ken." Yoji gave him a quick, impulsive hug. "Thanks for everything, man. I knew I could count on you."
Ken patted Yoji's back awkwardly and pulled away. He looked pleased, though. "Yeah. Well, don't count on me much more, 'cause I don't think I can take the excitement." He glanced at Aya, then looked back at Yoji. "If he needs a doctor tomorrow, you're on your own. The last one's out of service." He pulled a bottle of pills from his pocket and tossed them to Yoji. "Got some more pain killers, though. Just in case."
"Thorough," Yoji said, setting the bottle on the table by the bed.
"I take pride in my work," Ken said bitterly. He hopped up and headed for the door. "Hey, Aya? Um - good luck, man." He was almost out the door when Aya turned and said, "Thanks, Ken."
Surprised, Ken paused and looked back. "Sure thing, Aya. Try not to be such a prick, huh?" He closed the door quietly behind him.
Yoji got up and locked the door. He went over to the bag of food on the counter and started taking out boxes. "Ken brought us dinner. Smells fried. You should eat something, if you can."
Aya turned to face him. The movement was stiff and clumsy, not like Aya at all. Yoji could tell from his face that he wanted to say no but was too practical to do it. "Is there soup or rice or something?"
Going through the cartons, Yoji came up with a cup of miso soup and a cup of white rice. He set the yakitori aside for himself and carried Aya's food over to the futon. He helped Aya with the laborious process of sitting up. "Want me to feed you?"
Aya looked at him. "No." He started in on the rice, then sipped some soup directly from the container.
It wasn't much, but it should help. Yoji cleared the cartons and gulped down his own food. Then, he went through the bags Ken had left. Ah, yes - cigarettes and whiskey. He broke the seal on the booze and silently toasted Ken before taking a drink.
I am sick, sick, sick, and feeling a wee bit sorry for myself. It's all because I went to a children's Halloween party at a preschool last week. There were thirty or so kids, and so many germs you could almost see them massing and plotting their attack. (grumble mutter) But no matter how sick I am tomorrow, I'm going to vote!
Story: You’re Joking, Right?
Chapter: 19
Author: Kinukitty
Rating: R
Word count: 3,900
BTW: Weiss Kreuz is owned by Project Weiss, etc.
STORY SUMMARY: Aya's a mess. Yoji doesn’t know what’s going on but decides to take charge of the situation anyway -- however, the situation seems to be taking charge of him. Violent sex in previous chapters (but not this one). Also just violence. Head games and plot kinks. AU. Previous chapters are here.
Yoji sat down in the chair and finished off Aya's whiskey. He pulled the tiny computer drive from his pocket and stared at it. Aya had told him to call for a pickup if anything happened to him. Yoji wasn't sure if Aya would still want him to do that, since Aya was going to wake up and could take care of it himself. There might be a time element, though. And Yoji wanted to know. He picked up the phone and hit redial.
Someone answered on the first ring. "Ran?" The voice sounded restrained but still anxious. It was a man who spoke good Japanese but had an American accent. You could tell a lot from just one word, if you were listening.
And - Ran? Was that Aya's name? He had to have one.
"No."
"Ah." Disappointed. "Mr. Kudoh, then."
"Yeah. Sorry about that."
"Do you have the files?" All business now, but still strained, ever so slightly.
"Yeah. He told me to call for a pick-up. If anything happened to him."
There was a long pause. "I see." Yup - definitely upset. Good at hiding his emotions, but too distressed to pull it off completely. Didn't sound like a strictly business relationship. Although why he'd expect Aya to be capable of that, he had no idea.
"I'll send someone over." The words were clipped - definitely overcompensating.
"Don't you want to know what happened?"
Another long pause. "No. I don't require any details."
Cold bastard. Aya could pick 'em. Before he hung up, Yoji couldn't resist taking a wild shot, to see if it would hit anything. "It took too long to get all the files. He was just finishing when they hit him."
"You have all the files, then?" Tight as a tourniquet.
"Yeah. Come and get them." Yoji hung up. He didn't like his odds, bargaining with this one. Maybe he'd have better luck with whoever came over. And he could always call back.
Yoji looked over at Aya and felt a surge of pity. Yoji felt sorry for himself sometimes, with all his empty affairs, but Aya - desperate for someone to love him and letting himself go cheap to men like Farfarello and that bastard on the phone - that was tragic.
Now he just had to sit back and wait for another piece of Aya's puzzle to fall into place. Yoji went over to the futon and perched on the edge, brushing Aya's hair off his face. It was wet with sweat. "You'll be all right, baby. I'll take care of you." Aya's eyelashes fluttered. "You waking up? You're going to be all right. How do you feel?"
Aya opened his eyes. They wavered, never focused, then closed again. He inclined his face toward Yoji's hand, and Yoji stroked his cheek. "Talk to me, baby. How do you feel?"
"How do you think I feel?" Aya muttered. His words were a little slurred.
"Like hell, I'd imagine. Need some water?"
Aya grunted, which Yoji took as a yes. He fetched a glass and sank back onto the futon with it. Sliding his arm under Aya's shoulders, Yoji carefully lifted Aya's head. Between the angle and Aya's lack of coordination, about half of it spilled, but Aya didn't seem to care.
"What happened?" Aya finally asked.
"What do you remember?"
Aya's brow furrowed in concentration. "Files."
"Yeah. We got them. I just called for the pickup." Apparently that was all right, too. Yoji shook his head. Nothing about what had happened to him or how badly he was injured - just the files. "You got shot. In the chest. We're at your apartment, and you're going to be all right."
Aya seemed to be having trouble following that. "You got me out?"
"You didn't think I'd leave you, did you?"
"I told you to."
"Yeah, well, I'm not completely whipped."
The puzzled expression was priceless.
"How?"
"I picked you up and carried you out." Yoji kept his tone light. "There's one thing, though. That you aren't going to like."
Aya frowned and opened his eyes. They were cloudy and still not focused. His eyelids kept drifting shut on their own, and he finally gave up the effort.
Yoji wiped the sweat from Aya's forehead. "I called Ken. He found a doctor for me. He's out now, getting rid of the truck and picking up supplies."
The eyes flew open, and now Aya looked much sharper. "Ken? Yoji, what the fuck? We can't -"
"Shut up. I couldn't think of anything else to do. I couldn't take you to a hospital."
"I told you -"
"No. Aya, we took out the target and got all the files. We did the job. But whatever you're involved in, it isn't more important than you are."
Aya snorted. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Whose fault is that? But I don't care what it is. Losing you wasn't an option. We'll work it out from here. And there's nothing you can do about it anyway." Yoji kissed him. "You are more important, Aya."
Aya's face scrunched up as if he were in pain, and Yoji checked to make sure he wasn't squishing him, and that the bandages looked clean. When he looked up, he realized Aya was crying. "Oh, baby," he whispered, holding Aya loosely, one hand stroking his stringy hair. "Go to sleep, OK? I've got this. I'm going to take care of everything. Just rest and let me take care of you." He could tell when Aya fell asleep; the lines of pain around his eyes and mouth relaxed.
Yoji lay there, holding him, letting his mind drift. He had no idea how he was going to keep his promise, but he would. And although Aya was going to be pissed as hell when he woke up fully, Yoji didn't regret bringing Ken in. He couldn't do this without Ken.
The door swung open, and someone walked into the room - Yoji hadn't heard a thing. Must be the pickup. Yoji didn't bother to move, since the other option was that Esszet or Kritiker had found them, which would mean they were dead anyway. Yoji looked over his shoulder lazily. "Evening," he drawled.
A well-dressed man stood in the doorway. He was good-looking, although his ugly businessman glasses somewhat marred the effect. Yoji narrowed his eyes. This was one of the men he'd fought at the warehouse. At least he wasn't wearing the white suit now. Well, then; Yoji's theory had been just about on the mark. Aya might not exactly work for Schwartz, but close enough. The man was staring, visibly shocked. He covered it up in an instant, though. "He's alive," Oracle said.
Yoji let go of Aya and carefully got off the futon. "I want some information."
Oracle looked at him as if he'd found half a cockroach in his salad, then drifted toward Aya like he couldn't help himself. He sank to the edge of the futon and gingerly touched Aya's hand.
Yoji wanted to kill him. His fingers twitched with the need to draw the wire and pull it tight around this man's neck.
"Ran," Oracle whispered, taking Aya's hand and kissing it. "You made it."
Aya's eyes snapped open. He looked around the room, panicky, trying to orient himself. Then he looked at Oracle. It wasn't one of Aya's more impressive glares - he was, after all, drugged and tired and in pain - but it wasn't bad. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to pick up the files."
"Why did you come yourself?"
"I don't know," Oracle said quietly. "Ran, when he called me, I thought… I was bereft." He cleared his throat. He seemed to be about to say more, but then he glanced at Yoji and fell silent.
"Are you going to get me out of this?"
Oracle stared at the wall as if he saw something there. Finally, he shook his head. "I can't. I'm sorry. Nothing has changed."
Aya jerked his hand out of Oracle's, his face twisting in rage. "Take the God-damned files and get out of here."
"Ran -"
"Can you fix this with Kritiker?"
Oracle hesitated. "Ran. I told you that you were on your own. We can't be involved." He sounded as if he were trying to explain something to a small child.
"Then we've completed our transaction. Talk to Yoji, and go." Aya turned his face away, closing his eyes against more tears and hating it.
Oracle stood up and straightened his shoulders, wiped the wrinkles from his suit. Hugo Boss, looked like. His face was completely impassive as he approached Yoji. "The files, please."
"He works for you?"
"Mr. Kudoh, you're hardly in a position to bargain with me for intel."
"I wasn't bargaining. I was asking."
"You were demanding. Or attempting to. If you think I wouldn't kill you and simply take what I came for, you've misread the situation."
No, Yoji hadn't misread the situation at all. He glanced over at Aya, who hadn't moved. He wasn't intervening - Yoji wondered what that meant. "No, I get you," he said, pulling the canvas bag from under the chair. "Here. Sorry about the blood." He looked pointedly at a large, brownish smear. "Got a little messy when I was saving his life."
Oracle didn't react, just took the bag. "And the drive, please," he said, glancing at Yoji's pocket.
Yoji handed it over without another word. He wasn't going to get anything out of this big swinging dick anyway, and Aya obviously wanted him gone.
Apparently Oracle felt the same. He nodded condescendingly and left without looking back.
Yoji relocked the door and went back to Aya. He didn't move or make a sound, but tears rolled down his face and onto the sheets. Yoji put his arms around him, carefully, trying not to jar him too much. He lay behind Aya, face buried in his hair, stroking his cheek. "I'm sorry, baby."
Aya made a wet, snuffling noise. "About what?"
"About him."
"You don't know anything about it," Aya said sullenly.
"Here's what I know about it. You love him. You did this for him. And you almost died, and he isn't going to help you." Yoji put his fingers over Aya's lips. "Ssshh." He held Aya until he fell asleep again.
Yoji drifted off himself and was awakened by Ken's quiet knock. "'S Ken," he muttered to Aya, who'd started but hadn't fully woken up. "I'll get it. Go back to sleep." He disentangled himself from Aya and the filthy sheets and staggered to the door.
Ken brought in several large bags, one of which was takeout. Yoji grabbed the food and set it on the counter. Setting everything down, Ken looked over at Aya. "How's he doing?"
"He's…" More fucked up than I'd even realized. Yoji ran his hand through his hair. "He seems OK. Can't stay awake, but he doesn't seem feverish, and he isn't bleeding."
Ken nodded. "I brought supplies. Food, clothes. More bandages. Yeah, and cigarettes."
"Where'd you drop the truck?"
"Not far from the store. I cleaned up the blood and wiped it down for prints. I hope you wore gloves in the house. Who knows what kind of resources these people have."
Yoji nodded. "Com on, Ken. We're professionals."
Ken gave him a dark look. "There isn't any word out about it yet, as far as I can tell. So at the moment, the only one you have to worry about is Omi. Which is bad enough. Do you have a plan? Aya can't just go back to work tomorrow like nothing happened."
"I was sort of hoping you could help me with that, too."
"Sure. I have to turn some water into wine at eight, but I should have the morning free after that." Ken shook his head in disgust. "Did you talk to Aya's people?"
Yoji sighed. "Nothing coming from them. I was thinking we could make Omi think Aya and I ran off together. You could tell him you tried to stop us, but we wouldn't listen, and you figured it would be better for us to just get it out of our systems. Then we could come back in a week or so, whenever Aya's well enough to fake it. That's plausible, right?"
"What's even more plausible is that Omi would put it together and figure out you had something to do with that assassination. The timing is too suspicious. He's going to find out about what you did."
"But why would we do it? He doesn't have any reason to link us to it."
"Maybe, maybe not. I can't believe he wouldn't make the leap. And even if he didn't, he might send somebody after you anyway. I don't know how clean the trail is on Aya's apartment, but even if Kritiker couldn't find it on paper, you drove the truck here. If he looks hard enough, he'll find you."
"It's a big fucking city, Ken."
"They'll get the word out. Offer enough money, and someone's going to remember seeing something." Ken frowned. "Same goes for your new enemies. If you stay here long enough, someone will find you. You might get a week, or more. Or you might not." He glanced at Aya. "I'd hate to risk it. He's not going to be at full power for a long time."
Yoji sighed. He'd already worked all of that out for himself, but hearing Ken say it made it final. "We could actually run, but he needs a few days, anyway, before we could leave."
Ken nodded. "I think we need to tell Omi."
Alarmed, Yoji looked over at Aya, but he seemed to be asleep again. "How do you figure that?"
"We need his protection. If Aya's people won't back him, we have to find somebody who can deflect Kritiker, at least. I could approach him, if you want. Tell him everything, and bring him over here. He might go for it, if he gets to be the hero and save everybody. Aya might have to cut a deal, though." He gave Yoji a penetrating look. "And you are going to be in the dog house for the rest of your life."
"You really think Omi can handle this?"
"If he will. And he might. I think he'd love to get a leash on Aya."
"Why? He hates Aya. I thought he wanted to get rid of him. This would be the time, right?"
"He doesn't want to get rid of Aya. Or he can't; I don't know. Whatever. He has a lot of incentive not to cut him loose. We're Omi's team. It looks kind of bad that he didn't know what Aya was doing and let this happen." Ken shrugged. "Plus, I'd kind of suspected Aya didn't have the same deal with Kritiker as the rest of us. Well, you and me, anyway. He has more freedom. This is Omi's chance to take it away."
"How do you know so much about Omi, anyway, Ken?"
"I told you, I just pay attention. You ought to stay home more. You're missing a lot."
No shit. "I don't know what Aya's going to say about this."
"If Aya jumped off a cliff, would you just jump off after him? Oh, wait - I guess you would." Ken might be able to look more disgusted, but it would take some effort. "Wake him up, Yoji. We have to figure this out. Now."
"He's kind of out of it, Ken."
"He'll manage. I have to know what we're going to do before I go home, and no way am I spending the night here. Wake him up."
Ken was right. That sucked, but what could you do? Yoji lay down on the futon and gently shook Aya's shoulder. "Wake up, baby. We need to talk."
Aya's eyes flew open, then drifted shut almost immediately. Yoji jostled him again. "Come on, Aya. It's important." May as well kill two birds with one stone. "Ken's here. He thinks we need to bring Omi in on it." That ought to wake him up.
His eyes drifted open again, dull with pain, then sharper with annoyance as he started processing Yoji's words. "No fucking way." It ran together a little but was easy enough to understand.
Ken sat on the edge of the futon, where he could see Aya's face. "If you have a plan that'll work, I'll go with it." His tone was surprisingly gentle. "Look, Aya - Yoji brought you here in the truck. They'll trace it here eventually, Kritiker or the other people. You can't stay here long. You need to go home and establish an alibi. If Omi says there's nothing unusual going on, Kritiker won't question it. This place can't be traced to you, right?"
Aya shook his head, obviously thinking hard. Obviously displeased. He saw the logic. Eventually, he said, "Just leave me supplies and get out. Both of you. I should have a few days, at least. I'll take my chances."
Oh, no, he fucking well wouldn't. Yoji started to say so, but Ken beat him to it.
"Aya, it might work with the other group, but not with Kritiker. They know you're a wild card, and someone with inside information kills this agent, and you disappear for a week? Come on." Ken looked up at Yoji, worried. "He must have bled all over the place."
"Mostly on one rug. I got rid of it on the way over here, and I cleaned up the rest."
"Security footage?"
"I wiped the system," Aya said.
"You're sure there wasn't a backup?" Ken asked.
Aya frowned. In his current state, it appeared that his lower lip was dangerously close to quivering. "Yes," he said. "I'm sure."
Ken nodded. "OK. Anybody left alive to ID you?"
Yoji nodded. "A couple of guards at the gate. We were wearing hats and uniforms, and they didn't see us for long. I don't think they could give much of a description."
Ken thought about it, nodded again. "Yeah. Smooth. Too bad you didn't have a contingency plan for getting shot."
"I did," Aya said quietly. "Dying."
Grinning, Ken said, "Yoji just couldn't leave well enough alone, could he? Well, you're alive, man. Although I'll bet you'll wish you weren't by the time Omi's through with you."
"I'm not cutting a deal with Omi." Aya looked churlish and sulky.
Instead of the explosion Yoji was expecting from Ken, there was - nothing. Ken just sat there, looking at Aya sympathetically. "Look, Aya, I don't blame you, OK? I'll even help you run, if that's what you decide to do. Just - look. You're in no shape to get away now. Live to fight another day, right?"
"I can't give him my backer, Ken."
Ken paused. "Your backer apparently doesn't have any qualms about giving you to Omi." When Aya looked away, Ken added, more gently, "Omi won't like that, but we can still make it work. You'll have to sell your soul to him, but - well, at least this way, you can get Yoji off the hook."
"Ken," Yoji said warningly.
Ken gave him the "we both know this is the only way" look. Yoji still wasn't sure it was, but damned if he'd come up with anything yet that didn't end with Aya dead, more likely than not. "Aya, don't worry about me." He couldn't help saying it.
"Yoji's fine. Just go home, both of you. Pretend you don't know anything about it. I'll figure out the rest."
No way in hell was Yoji going home and leaving Aya to fend for himself. "Aya, you can't do this by yourself."
"I just need to sleep for a day or two. If you want to help me, Yoji, tell Omi we had a fight and I left. Tell him I'll get over it and come back in a few days. I still have a few cards to play, all right? And if I do cut a deal with Kritiker, it's not going to be with Omi." Aya looked into Yoji's eyes. "I'd rather die, and I mean it."
Looking from Aya to Yoji, Ken stood up. "OK. I'm going home. I went out drinking tonight after my game. I never saw either one of you. Yoji?"
"I'm not leaving," Yoji said stubbornly. Aya was not shutting him out now, God damn it.
"Yes, you will." Aya had that look on his face. Even though he was badly injured and drugged to the gills, it was impossible to ignore that look.
"You could spend the night, Yoji. Make sure he seems OK in the morning." Ken forced a smile. "Nobody's going to think twice about you showing up in the middle of the morning, looking like dog meat."
"I never look like dog meat. Maybe a bit - louche - but always hot." Yoji turned to Aya. "OK. Maybe. If you look bad in the morning -"
"You can stay tonight, but you're leaving in the morning, no matter how I look. I could take care of myself before I met you, and I can take care of myself now."
That hurt more than it should have. "All right, I get it." Yoji kept his tone casual. "I'll see you in the morning, Ken." Yoji gave him a quick, impulsive hug. "Thanks for everything, man. I knew I could count on you."
Ken patted Yoji's back awkwardly and pulled away. He looked pleased, though. "Yeah. Well, don't count on me much more, 'cause I don't think I can take the excitement." He glanced at Aya, then looked back at Yoji. "If he needs a doctor tomorrow, you're on your own. The last one's out of service." He pulled a bottle of pills from his pocket and tossed them to Yoji. "Got some more pain killers, though. Just in case."
"Thorough," Yoji said, setting the bottle on the table by the bed.
"I take pride in my work," Ken said bitterly. He hopped up and headed for the door. "Hey, Aya? Um - good luck, man." He was almost out the door when Aya turned and said, "Thanks, Ken."
Surprised, Ken paused and looked back. "Sure thing, Aya. Try not to be such a prick, huh?" He closed the door quietly behind him.
Yoji got up and locked the door. He went over to the bag of food on the counter and started taking out boxes. "Ken brought us dinner. Smells fried. You should eat something, if you can."
Aya turned to face him. The movement was stiff and clumsy, not like Aya at all. Yoji could tell from his face that he wanted to say no but was too practical to do it. "Is there soup or rice or something?"
Going through the cartons, Yoji came up with a cup of miso soup and a cup of white rice. He set the yakitori aside for himself and carried Aya's food over to the futon. He helped Aya with the laborious process of sitting up. "Want me to feed you?"
Aya looked at him. "No." He started in on the rice, then sipped some soup directly from the container.
It wasn't much, but it should help. Yoji cleared the cartons and gulped down his own food. Then, he went through the bags Ken had left. Ah, yes - cigarettes and whiskey. He broke the seal on the booze and silently toasted Ken before taking a drink.