Switching Sides (Chapter 7)
Title: Switching Sides
Group/pairing: Arashi/ Ohmiya
Word Count: 2329 words
Rating: PG
Possible warnings: Involves subject matter of drugs, terrorism and deaths.
Summary: The Special Ops Division of the J.I.A have been tracking down a mysterious organisation who have been responsible for massive hacking incidents and the assassination of prominent political and financial figures. What then happens when one of their members was suddenly kidnapped?
Disclaimer: So far I only own two photosets of Sho and a set of Arashi playing cards. I wish I'd own Arashi, but no. I don't. ._. All characters and personas and their actions portrayed in this story are completely fictional.
Author note: In the middle of juggling work and re-drafting Chapter 8 at the moment. But things are getting more serious for our separated Ohmiya pair. ;_; Enjoy this new chapter while I try to crank out the next one. ^^;
Chapter 7: Sinking Deep
Kuroda guided Kagura down a small flight of stairs and opened a door to a small room.
"This is where you probably will be most of the time," Kuroda said, "I need you to restore this."
Kagura looked carefully at the huge pile of equipment before him.
"It looks like an old computer of some sort," Kagura remarked, "a good part of it is burnt though."
"This is a powerful computer called the L2AW-HOH. We have a hardware engineer who can help restore the pieces," Kuroda said, "but what I need you to do is to restore the software."
"How?"
"By doing a lot of coding to fix up various segments," Kuroda said, "it sounds tough but one step at a time ought to do it."
Kagura nodded as he looked at the equipment around him and followed Kuroda out of the room.
"So I will wait until the engineers have restored it into a functional machine first."
"Yep."
"What shall I do in the meantime then?"
Kuroda cast him a surprised look.
"Well, you can rest up for a few more days, I suppose. You have hit your head hard after all."
"Just.. enlighten me on one thing," Kagura said," .. what are we doing here in the H.R.C?"
Kuroda's eyes seemed to take on a more far off look as he leaned against a wall.
"You know that not everyone has the same fate, right?" Kuroda began,and Kagura gave a nod.
"To some, the world that they live in is their oyster. They have ability. Freedom. And opportunities that are just within reach for a better life," he said, "some others think nothing of the world and simply life life as it dictates without giving it much thought. And then we have others who believe that the world they live in is nothing short of hell. Some think it's better that they die than live the life that they have."
At Kuroda's unusually grave tone, Kagura looked up at him as he let him continue.
"We all have these three kinds of people around everywhere, don't we? In school we have the bullies, the bullied, and the people who don't give a damn. Out on the streets we see the rich riding comfortably in their cars. We see beggars sitting in scorned corners of the city. And then we have the people who walk right on by without a care."
Kuroda sighed as he paused.
"How could we all live in the same place, and yet live such contrasting lives? Life just isn't fair now, is it?" he continued, "and the goal of the H.R.C is to change that. We will revolutionise this toxic hierarchy that glorifies the elite and winnows out the outcasts."
Kuroda's brown eyes met Kagura's in a firm, determined gaze.
"We will give the outcasts of our world the chances at life that they so deserve. We will right the wrongs that plague our current society."
Kagura nodded slowly as he processed whatever Kuroda had told him. Kuroda smiled and then gave him a pat on the shoulder.
"We have plenty of time to fix up this computer," he said,"you can afford more rest and time to mingle with the other H.R.C. members. We are all fighting for this cause together, after all."
Kagura nodded and walked back to his allocated room as he reflected on what he had been told. Kuroda had a point. Not everyone has equal opportunities in succeeding in life. And if no one was able or willing to help them, how else could they find a reason to live in such an unforgiving world?
He inhaled and exhaled deeply and went back to his room to rest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Time passed slowly to Ohno Satoshi ever since the Division had decided to stop looking for Ninomiya Kazunari and focus instead on targeting and mitigating any criminal activities conducted by the H.R.C.
Every single day passed normally- briefings, field missions, training regimes and occasional off-days out at sea on his boat.
And then hours later, the sun would set.
Night would fall.
Everything around him would grow quieter and quieter.
And then thoughts of Nino would fill his mind.
Nino who always relied on him like a kid when he was sick.
Nino who would complain about not leaving his bed on his off-days and yet still open the door in his apartment to invite him in.
Nino who is alive, well but still missing.
Nino who fired a gun at him close enough to make a neat cut in his coat.
He would reminisce, reflect and look up into the quiet night before going to bed, knowing he would not be able to catch a wink of sleep again.
Not when worry, regret and guilt was nagging away at him from the inside.
Days turned to weeks.
Weeks turned to months.
"According to those high junkies in the interrogation room, this isn't the end to this drugs saga yet," Sho's voice cut in promptly into Ohno's deep thoughts,"and we are going to stop the next wave of smuggled drugs. We don't need more people getting high on them."
"So, how will we do this then?" Aiba asked.
"Those goons did give us a particular area in their …'high' state. We're going to have to keep an eye out on that one blind spot we found in the highway some time ago," Sho said, "and if we're looking at bulk orders like with those goons in the interrogation rooms, it's likely to be a van again."
"Will me and Ohno-kun go again this time?" Jun asked. Sho thought for a while.
"I think it's best if I follow you two for this one," Sho decided, "the previous drug deliveries we thwarted are smaller, but this one seems different if they are going through that one route from the side of that highway."
"Alright! Keep your headset on, Sho-chan!" Aiba said as he handed over some field equipment to Sho, and the three men were immediately off to the Kan-Endo Expressway.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"It should be coming in some time soon," Kuroda said as he looked through the list on his clipboard, "our bulk orders, that is."
"What will we be doing with these substances?" Kagura asked as he stood beside Kuroda, checking the time on his watch.
"Well some of it is used within our circle for various purposes," Kuroda said, "but most of it is sold elsewhere purely for money."
"I see. By the way, I have something to tell you about the computer."
"Ah, the L2A-W-HOH? What about it?"
"I'm only down to one core component now. Once I'm done with this one, we can start it up," Kagura stated,"but.. what exactly is it for?"
"It has a bit of history," Kuroda explained,"but long story short, it is a computer that runs only on Waterwall softwares."
"So basically with this computer.."
"Yes," Kuroda said confidently,"brute-hacking into any computer and its contents is possible... Even the almighty government's."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"But really now, how did this area go undiscovered by the authorities?" Jun remarked as he drove through tunnel of the expressway, navigating their way towards the blind spot where another smaller tunnel was seen,"more importantly, how DID this place even exist?"
"I'm going to guess that there were executed plans to build some form of underground transport, but it was overridden with plans for an expressway and so they build this on top of that instead," Sho said as he drove the car through the dark tunnel. They soon came out of the tunnel onto what could only be described as a deserted slip road.
"Well, we are going to pull over at a convenience store nearby," Sho said as he consulted his GPS,"I will park the car with all the others so we won't stand out."
"And then?" Jun asked.
"And then we wait," came Sho's reply as he made a sharp turn into the parking lot. And there, with a few cans of warm canned coffee.. they waited.
After a few long hours, a small van pulled through the tunnel, and Sho waited for the van to pass a good distance before driving cautiously out of the parking lot, the GPS in his car now actively scanning for unwatched eyes. He skilfully drove his car to hide inconspicuously in a huge area of tall grass.
"Ohno-kun, Jun-kun, I'm staying to keep watch. Keep the feed on your contact lenses on. I will be watching,"
Ohno and Jun nodded before creeping out of the car and stealthily made their way towards the warehouse.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Everything is correct," Kagura said as he shut the boxes and looked over at Kuroda.
Just then, the doors to the warehouse they were in swung open, and several men were tossed into the warehouse, their bodies unconscious.
"Who is there?! What is going on?!" Kuroda growled, as he and Kagura reached for their guns. Just then, a few gunshots rang out from the outside.
"Kagura, stay right where you are. I will go check outside! " Kuroda ordered as he stalked out of the warehouse.
Ohno looked up from his position outside the warehouse and hurried his way to the back of it. Soon after he hid himself, he heard the some footsteps tread outside the warehouse.
He gave a small peek at the man from behind the warehouse.
It was just as he had expected- something about that man looked all too familiar. Somehow, somewhere.. He knew that he had seen that face before.
Just then, he heard a loud screeching of tires and a series of gunshots broke out from inside the warehouse, and Ohno's thoughts returned back to their mission. He heard the sound of a vehicle approaching the back of the warehouse and readied himself. True enough, the van stopped in front of him, with Jun as the driver.
"Get on now! Hurry!" Jun barked, and Ohno hurried on to the other side of the van, seating himself beside him before slamming the door shut. Several gunshots fired from behind them, and the rear glass window immediately cracked and shattered into the interior of the vehicle.
"Shit!" Jun cursed, "we are moving fast out of here now!" His foot jammed hard on the accelerator, the tires of the van screeching hard on the gravel as it made a sharp turn around to the side of the warehouse. The van charged ahead, and Ohno looked ahead to see a familiar figure appear a good distance in front of them.
Kagura readied his gun just as he locked eyes with Ohno, who only froze right where he was in his seat. Just then, a sharp pain shot right through his head and Kagura winced as he tried to maintain his aim.
"GET DOWN, BLUE-KUN!" Sho's command barked in Ohno's ear, but it was as if he could not hear him.
In the next moment, Ohno felt Jun tug him down by the right arm, his vision now falling onto the space below the dashboard. Two gunshots broke the main windscreen, the glass shards raining down on Jun's back as he shielded him from them.
The gun shots continued to ring as they passed Kagura, and only when Jun realised that they were about to run into a tree did he manage a sharp turn in the direction of the car where Sho was in.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Jun yelled at Ohno, "you could have been killed, you know that?!"
"Y-yeah. Thanks Jun-kun. Sorry I spaced out.." Ohno said shakily as he tried to sit up in his seat, his heart still torn between wanting to see Nino again and wanting to aim his gun at the man who used to be Nino.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Well shucks! They left!" Kagura yelled just the same sharp pain from a while ago returned in full force. He buckled to his knees as he held a hand to the side of his head, feeling as if something was either splitting his head or compressing it.
"Kagura!" Kuroda's voice called as the man rushed over to him, "what is it? What?"
"I don't know…" Kagura said breathlessly, "my head hurts. Very badly."
"Some painkillers will do the trick. I will get some," Kuroda said as he strode off, whipping out a phone from his pocket and dialling a number.
"It's me. Increase the dosage of methoxphenidine. Its effects seem to be waning."
He then reached for a couple of painkillers in his bag and handed them over to Kagura.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Ohno-kun, were you even the least bit aware that you were this close- THIS CLOSE- to getting shot to death?!" Sho reprimanded on the way back,"do you know how worried I was as I watched you through the camera feed?!"
"I.. I understand," Ohno said, "I'm sorry I worried both of you. But I am okay, really."
"Look. I know you are not okay. And I know why. But.." Sho paused to give an exasperated sigh, "but.. the security of our agents and even the citizens are at stake. You need to pull yourself together for the lives riding on our shoulders."
Ohno nodded, but he was not paying attention.
Part of his mind was occupied by Kagura and the sad but inevitable fact that he was no longer the person he knew.
And yet another part of his mind was on full alert on another fact.
The man beside that Kagura guy was.. too familiar.
He took out an old manila envelope from his desk drawer. In it lay a photograph. The top and the bottom parts of the photograph were pitch black, but what was in the middle was as clear as day.
That same man he saw at the warehouse was in the photograph in an old J.I.A uniform.. pointing a machine gun at a couple.
He could never forget the Night of the Blood Moon when it happened.
After all...
he was there.