[writing] Project Epsilon - Chapter Two

[djtenku]

Title: Riot Generator
Word Count: 2724
Summary: Packing. Strange place. Compromise.

“You should really lay off the coffee, Michael,” Noelle said idly as she sat down on the edge of the mahogany desk. She fished out a small and plain folding fan and unfurled it. “I’m surprised you aren’t a diabetic with all that sugar.”

“Last time I checked, you’re not…” Michael briefly looked down and saw that the black mug was already half empty, and frowned. “Ah, forget it.”

The office that acted mostly as a second home on some occasions to Michael “Oni” Kage was now bare and empty; some frames of pictures had been up so long that the sun burned their shadow into the wall. He didn’t realize that he had a lot. Boxes were neatly packed and set aside near the door, most of them contained medals, plaques, and mementos he had received over the years. Pictures were a long story in itself – pictures of each squad that formed and even died, or simply shifted to one another. Emerald, Bravo, Spade, even both of the all-women squads Diamond and Angels, each with their unique colors and insignia.

Has it been that long? he asked himself as he looked at his own picture, back when he had first started himself, wearing a very starched black camoflague uniform. Back when his hair was dark, and when he had both eyes. “Damn,” he said aloud.

Noelle looked over his shoulder and raised thin eyebrows. She smiled. “Well, I haven’t seen that,” she said idly. “You were quite handsome.” Emphasis on were. “You know Michael, if you still want to challenge this, now’s the time to do so. I doubt they’ll hear you out, seeing that you and your merry bands destroyed countless expensive weapons and all.”

“It’s a part of me and them, I suppose,” Michael admitted, taking a small sip. Noelle gave him a sour look. “Checks and balances. There’s something off when you start having these giant…machines designed for mass destruction.”

“You’ve got a point there.”

“Noelle, why the sudden change of heart anyway? You were quite delighted to tell me.”

The woman looked elsewhere. “I don’t know, vengence on the mind maybe. Still bitter.”

“You already took my eye,” Michael said with clear disdain.

“Oh, I could have taken -” Noelle stopped midsentence and looked up as she heard running, heavy footsteps from the hallway. She and Michael both raised an eyebrow when Kento appeared in the doorway, a strange expression on his scarred face as he looked about.

“What the hell is going on?” he half-asked, half yelled. “What’s with all these boxes?”

Michael rose from his chair, slowly. “What are you doing here?”

“They’re gone,” Kento said after a moment. “Shina, Rowan…”

“Explain.”

He straightened up, forcing the words and the scenes to come up.“Didn’t you hear the news this morning?” Both stared blankly at him, and he let out a frustrated growl. “Maria and Rowan’s dad are dead; carbon monoxide poisoning and a stroke. That’s not even a coincidence! I talked to Rowan earlier this morning, over at his place. I went back after I heard the news, leaving Shin at home -” Michael narrowed his eye at this – “but I told her to lock everything behind me. When I… when I got back to Rowan’s, he wasn’t there, except his cat.”

Kento pointed to the bag strapped to his back, revealing the small animal as he unshouldered and unzipped the bag completely. “I tried calling home but, the line was dead, so I went back there, and Shin was gone too.” He pulled out his cellphone, dialed the voicemail, and tossed the phone to Michael. “Then, there was something on the answering machine. Listen.”

Several moments went by as Michael listened, face still unreadable. Kento ran his hand through his hair. “Just what the hell did he mean by that last part?”

Noelle looked away, face obsured by the fan. Michael finally looked up with a old, steely eye. “The Aces have been terminated, Kento. We no longer exist, and therefore, can’t do anything about this at all.”

Kento stared at him for several moments, not sure what the ex-general had said. “What?” The words didn’t even sound right, foreign even. “What are you talking about? H…how long? How long?” Silence. “When were you going to tell us, huh? Or did you just plan on leaving a note on the door, saying ‘good bye, hope you have a good life’?” He barely realized that his hands were balled into fists.

“You mean to tell me,” Kento started, voice low, “that I can’t even go after my own wife, my best friend who considers me as a brother, and even my unborn child? For all I know, they could be dead, or maybe worse. This is bullshit! You’re practically leaving them behind, just because of someone terminated us? You’re sending your own to death; if I didn’t know better, you were sending your own children to death!”

Noelle gasped sharply, shutting her eyes. Deliberately, Michael walked towards Kento. Kento forgotten how big and imposing the man was, but at this point he didn’t care at all.

“Michael, you have to do something about this; you can’t just lay down and die. Dare I say, I remembered some of those stories you told us. The one thing that struck me the most was the story of… hell, I can’t remember. But, you didn’t leave anyone behind, you went for your comrades against orders…I know you didn’t get those scars for nothing. For this to happen and you just taking it…” Kento shook his head and looked away. “I refuse to accept this. I’m going to do something about it whether you like it or not.”

Michael remained stoic, but he couldn’t shake the fact that he was almost seeing Kento as he was years ago, after he had delivered the somber news of his brother’s death, or when he refused to give up at the end of the grueling training session. There was so much intensity, and he was no different this time.

“There is…something I can do,” Noelle said quietly, mildly surprising both men. “I was specifically sent down to do the termination process, even though it started months ago. However,” she said, raising a hand to cut off Kento, “they have trusted me in doing this, which is a mistake in itself. Insubordination, I know. It’s a very small price.”

“What do you have in mind, Noelle?” Michael asked, turning towards her. The blonde smiled deviously, one that he hadn’t seen in a while.

“I’ll just have to forge some signatures, documents… the standard things. I think they already disabled the satellite links, who knows – in case they didn’t, we can use that to pinpoint their location. You may not want to hear this Kento, but it may take some time, though. From a few minutes, to perhaps half a day.”

Kento frowned. “But, is it possible? Not to doubt or anything…”

Michael smiled, without mirth. “We’re experienced in this sort of scheming; years.” There was a blank look on Kento’s face, but there was so much more in his azure eye. “Why don’t you try and get some rest? Distressed isn’t the right word for it, but you need a very clear mind for this. Don’t worry about setting a kit up for this since the location is still pending, and there isn’t anything you can do, at this point,” he added quickly.

“I’ve already tried earlier this morning,” Kento said without realising how old he sounded, walking out of the door, “and I don’t think I’m going to. Not until I get them back.”

“Then what will you do until then?”

“I’ll…I’ll just have to trust them, and hope that… hope to God that I won’t kill whoever did this.”

* * *

Shin woke up with a start, popping straight up and putting a hand to her head, trying to stave off an onset of a headache. She then checked her stomach, resting a hand on it. Safe. What the hell happened? She remembered checking the television, and seeing the little girl –

She glanced around, taking in the dark surroundings. The room took on a dark blue mixed in with the moonlight that filtered through the vast curtained windows. Double doors directly in front her opened to a sizable balcony, bringing in a distant breeze that smelled of sea water and other aromas she couldn’t place. She sat up, noticing that she was in a different attire when the soft cover dropped when she rose – a dark, silk gown, and her hair was not pinned up and smelt of lavender.

She ventured out from it, seeing the canopy bed, the veils tucked away. Where the hell am I?

Carefully, she ventured onto the balcony, seeing the dark outline of mountains and hills, and a nearby tree that looked old and ancient. Peculiar animal cries echoed through the darkness, and the moon was high in the sky and a lot larger than what she remembered.

She turned at the bedroom door creaking open, as if someone or even something wanted to goad her on. It only took her about two seconds to think it over, and she exited the bedroom. A short hall led her outside to a wide passageway, the ground paved with smooth bricks and the columns that supported the arcs so often. She entered through the other door, and she was welcomed with the tantalizing aroma of food. Up until that point, she had forgotten that she haven’t even eaten breakfast let alone a meal in some time. “Oh, I know,” she said softly, feeling her child turning within her.

Shin found the stairs and descending it, going to the slim yellow light – and the aroma getting stronger. She peaked through it for any signs of life before pulling back on the door. The room was a vast dining hall, with chandoliers hanging high from the ceiling, lighting a long table that was covered with a simple white cloth, dishes set as if someone prepared for it. The chairs were tipped forward on their two front legs, except one that was the closest to her; the chair was pulled out as if some person expected her. This one, however, had a plate full of food.

She waited a few moments before she entered the room completely, laying eyes on the food itself. It was a sizable piece of filet mignon with the sides of steamed brocolli and mashed potatoes, and on the small plate next to it had a piece of cheesecake with a small strawberry topping it. There was a fine glass of raspberry juice next to that as well.

Stunned, she sat down in front of it, trying to comprehend everything so far – and she glanced at her left hand, seeing her engagement ring was still on. She cradled her left hand with a sigh before eating the prepared meal.

* * *

Noelle sighed, and sat back in the lone chair of the office, staring at the laptop as the different combinations of numbers and letters – frequencies – as they scrolled past. It was already nightfall, the last of light lost to the darkness, leaving behind the soft white glow of the screen and the weak illuminance of the nearby buildings.

Why am I helping him? she wondered. I was supposed to give the killing blow! Everything was in place! Showing compassion wasn’t part of the plan!

She glanced at the lone picture on the desk. Maybe I still –

The thought was broken when the laptop chirped three times. ‘Search done’ it flashed, and exited it out on its own, showing two dots and the detailed map of the Earth. The dots were in the Pacific Ocean; puzzled, Noelle adjusted the resolution. They were just there, on no land. The closest to it was scattered islands and atolls. She fished out a piece of paper and a pencil and scribbled down the coordinates before leaving the room for the library with a brisk pace, the sound of her heels tapping the floor.

She slowed as she approached the white door, and pushed it open. All of its shelves were empty, and most of the furniture were gone – they had been there for so long that there were permanent indentations where the tables and chairs used to be. The only thing that was left were the cabinents and the service desk on which Kento sat on, hands clasped loosely together and his head bowed, eyes closed. Noelle couldn’t tell if he was asleep or in prayer.

A hand landed on her shoulder, and she looked up at Michael. “Find anything?” he asked, keeping his voice down.

“Yeah,” she replied, handing him the paper. “I’ll start calling transport from the Marshall Islands. I have a few strings I can pull. They’re a good five hundred miles from there if I’m not mistaken. It’s weird though, they’re over water… but no land. Not even an island, unless it’s covered.”

“Perhaps.”

Noelle brushed away strands of hair away from her face and turned for the office again. She glanced over her shoulder to steal a look, but Michael had already stepped inside. Instead, she stood a ways from the door frame and leaned her back against the wall, and listened.

Kento looked up as he sensed the presence with a blank stare; to Michael, it looked like the man had aged about eight years. “So…” His voice was a whisper.

“We found them,” Michael replied evenly. Another set of emotions traced Kento’s face, but still held the blank look of exhaustion. “Noelle is arranging for transportation at this moment.”

“Where are they?”

“Their coordinates has them in the Pacific Ocean, approximately five hundred miles from the Marshall Islands.”

Kento grimaced. Water never got along with him and him with it.

“There are only possible two possible options – by boat or air. I have a hunch both of them will be ill-advised thought, but air will be the best, given the conditions. Most likely, you’ll have to land at least a mile out.”

“How long do you think that will take, to get there?”

Michael crossed his arms and leaned against the cabinents, directly across from Kento. “It’s going to be a long ride, ten to thirteen hours; that’s best case scenerio. Should be no more than a day.”

“Anything else I should know?”

“Not at the moment. I’m still compiling information.” Michael looked away, forming the words carefully. “I have to admit, you were right.” Kento raised his eyebrow. “About the whole sending my own to death. It… bought up something; about family. As you might’ve guessed, Noelle and I were married to each other. I’ll spare you the details on that, but long story short, we wanted to start a family. We had everything, basically. It turned out that neither of us could at all, and we tried everything. We argued about it day in and out.

“That is, until one day, she told me she was pregnant. By that time, well, let’s just say…” Michael paused, and faded off. “Anyway, on the way to the hospital – I had told her that I would meet up with her. She got into a accident, totalled the car. It wasn’t her fault though but…” He bowed his head. “We lost our only child, our daughter. She would’ve been around, oh… not much older than Shina. I believed it was a curse – anyone that I was close to would be harmed or worse. So, I divorced her. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak.

“Why do you think I was protective of Shina?” Michael looked up at Kento. “I…feared that if I let her out of my sight, something terrible would happen to her, and I would’ve never forgive myself.”

Kento narrowed his eye. “Is that why I had to go the extra ten miles?”

“I had eyes and ears everywhere, but once I knew how Shina felt about you, well, I decided that she’ll be fine. After the fact when she stormed out on me anyway. What I’m trying to say is…” He stopped when Kento held up his hand.

“I understand, sir. Trust me.”

Silently, Noelle headed back for the office, fighting off years of sorrow.