Crossed Threads

Well, I figure I'd might as well make use of my computer while I've still got it, so I decided to put this up. I've been working on it for a bit, but I have the feeling it's gonna be a long one. Anyhoo, take the time to read it, and let me know if you like it. Heck, even if you don't, let me know. I crave human contact. *sigh* Blah blah, usual disclaimers apply.

~*~ Maia

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*Knock knock*

The noise woke Yohji from his dream, one which he had been enjoying quite thoroughly. "Didn't even get her clothes off…" he mumbled as the vision of the red-head faded from his mind. "Go away!" he yelled at the door, and proceeded to bury his face in his pillow in the hopes of picking up again where he'd left off.

*BANG BANG*

He muttered a curse to himself as he grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around his nakedness. He stalked over to the door and threw it open with an angry glare. "It's not noon yet, what do you want?"

Ken leaned against the doorframe, fully expecting the older man's hostile reactions. "Manx is downstairs. Get dressed." He didn't leave, obviously willing to drag Yohji downstairs the way he was if he refused.

"Fine, fine. Lemme grab some pants…" The blond picked through a pile of clothing that had been carelessly discarded the night before. He dropped the sheet to pull them on, finding a grim sort of amusement when Ken flushed and turned away. He wondered if the kid acted this way around Omi, too…it wouldn't surprise him to find out they hadn't slept together yet. Yohji chuckled to himself as he pushed past the flustered brunette and made his way down to the meeting room, lighting a smoke along the way.

The others were waiting for them, Omi sitting backwards on his computer chair, facing the couch, and Aya was leaning against the wall across from the stairs. Manx was sitting calmly on the loveseat, a large manila envelope on her lap.

"Ok, whadd'ya want now?" the tall blonde drawled, ignoring Aya's glare as the ashes from his cigarette fell to the floor.

Manx motioned Aya over to her and handed him the envelope. "Two Kritiker agents were killed last week," she stated, diving right into business, "And we have reason to believe that the group responsible has been gathering intelligence on us for some time." She waited a moment for her words to sink in.

Ken glanced up quickly at Omi, who simply raised his eyebrows and shrugged. Yohji frowned. Aya was the only one who didn't react.

Manx looked to each of them. "You understand what that entails, right? We don't know how much information they do have, or who it involves. No-one at Kritiker has even been able to get close. All we have is a series of locations. This is the one your team will be handling; we've got more teams standing by for the others. We're not even certain if this is where their intelligence is located, but on this matter, we are not taking any risks. The entire site is to be destroyed."


Yohji quirked an eyebrow. "So, what…you're expecting Aya to pummel this building with his katana until it falls down? Or is Ken just expected to slice it to ribbons?"

Manx rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. "If you would actually read the file, Kudoh," she motioned to the stack of papers that Aya was already perusing, "Your role in this operation is strictly secure and silence. Take care of anyone found inside the building, and don't worry about the rest."

Omi raised his hand to get Manx's attention. "Um, then can you tell us who is taking care of the rest?"

"They're sending an operative to us." Aya stated, flipping over a page.

"What?" Ken asked, unable to believe that Kritiker would burden their best team with some…outsider.

"It's all in the file." Manx said, standing up to leave. "The agent will arrive in two days, and you will need to be ready to act in a week's time. All the teams involved will be mobilized simultaneously, understood? Be prepared."

After she left, the other three crowded around Aya, who was almost finished reading the report. When he was done, he made a small sound in his throat that was almost a grunt, the only clue the others had that he was as angry at the situation as they were.

Ken crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head. "I can't believe they're sending someone in! Don't they think we can handle it?"

"Apparently, this agent is an expert with explosives. We could use someone with those skills for this job," Aya admitted. He didn't like the idea either; the four of them were like a family. And besides, it would be rather difficult to keep the relationship between the younger two a secret with someone new hanging around.

"Let me see that," Yohji said, grabbing the papers from Aya. He skimmed through, growing more and more frustrated. From the proposed description of the operation, it was starting to look like they really would need the help of this new agent. Cursing in his head, he read through the brief bio sheet.

All of a sudden, his face turned deathly pale, and he allowed his cigarette to drop from his mouth. "What is wrong with you?" Ken cried, stomping it out before it could light the carpet on fire. He peered over the older man's shoulder to see what he was looking at. It was a girl's picture.

"That's the agent?" he asked with an appreciative whistle, " What's wrong…do you know her?"

Yohji nodded, swallowing hard. "She's…my sister."

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"You're just mad that they're sending us a female agent that you can't date!" Ken said, a weak attempt at lightening the mood. They were all in the kitchen now, and Yohji was busy downing his third beer in a row.

"Don't talk about her that way!" the blonde snapped, pacing back and forth in front of the small table where his team-mates sat.

Omi, squeezing Ken's hand and giving him a don't-get-him-started look, asked Yohji the question that was on all their minds. "Yo-tan, why didn't you ever tell us you had a sister?"

The blonde stopped pacing and slammed his empty bottle down beside the others. He thought about getting another, but decided against it. Finally, he gave a heavy sigh. "Because it wasn't your business. I figured the fewer people who knew about her, the safer she'd be. I never told anyone at Kritiker. I was trying to…protect her from them. It's not exactly the best business to be in, and if anything happened to me, I didn't want her to…" He collapsed into the empty chair at the table, holding his head in his hands. "I guess it didn't work, huh?" He lapsed into silence, staring blankly at the table in front of him.

The others glanced at each other worriedly. They all understood what Yohji was thinking. Familial ties were not favoured in Kritiker, and they had caused the dismemberment of teams in the past. That wasn't something that any of them wanted to think about right now.

Omi finally spoke up, hoping to find a slightly more favourable subject. "Well, what can you tell us about her?"

"Read the damn file!" Yohji snapped, "I haven't seen her in years. Dad left when I was ten, and he took her with him. Never heard from either of them again…" He lapsed into silence.

"Well, I'm sure we'll learn more once she gets here," Ken offered. The three of them got up and went to start opening up the shop, leaving Yohji alone to think, or do whatever it was he was going to do. Aya, thinking of his own sister, understood what his team-mate must be going through. He didn't even remind Yohji that this was the third day this week he'd skipped work.

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"I wonder when she's gonna get here?" Ken mused, leaning on his broom. Aya was out making a delivery, and Yohji hadn't come out of his room since the mission briefing two days earlier. He and Omi were working the shop alone, and thankfully it had been a pretty slow day.

Omi smiled up at him from where he was working on a new arrangement. "I thought you were against the idea of an outsider working with us?" he teased.

"Well, I am," Ken replied, "But think of the advantage she's gonna give us over Yohji! I'll bet she knows all kinds of stuff about him that he wouldn't want us to know!" He grinned as Omi rolled his eyes.

"Like she'd tell you!"

Both boys jumped at the sound of the voice behind them. Yohji was standing in the doorway, peering at them over the top of his sunglasses.

Ken cleared his throat as Omi suppressed a giggle. "Didn't…didn't Manx say she was supposed to be coming today?" the athlete asked.

Yohji nodded. "She's crossing the street right now."

"What?" both of them cried, spinning around to look out the window. Sure enough, the girl whose picture had been in the file was walking right towards them. She glanced at the sign and checked a piece of paper she was holding in her hand, and pushed open the door.

"Hi, I'm looking for…" Her words trailed off as she recognized the man standing in front of her. "Yohji? Is that…? What are you…?" she stammered, unable to voice all the thoughts that were suddenly rushing through her mind.

"Weiss." he said simply. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. "Come on in, we'll get you settled. Omi, put on some tea, and Ken, close the shop early. We've got things to discuss."

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Once Omi had shown her her new room and Ken finished carrying her bags from her car -- which, due to the parking restrictions on the street, was two blocks away -- the four of them found themselves in the mission room.

Yohji and his sister sat on the loveseat, neither of them having said anything to each other since she arrived. Omi and Ken sat in the armchairs on either side, glancing at each other nervously. Finally, Yohji broke his silence.

"Omi, Ken, this is Tori. Tori, these are my team-mates. The other one should be home soon."

Tori gave each boy a small nod, and then lowered her gaze to where her hands were folded in her lap.

"Yohji," she said quietly, "I didn't know you worked for Kritiker. They never told me."

"They didn't know who you were," he replied, turning his body to face her, "You have our father's name, right? I changed mine just after he left. So how did you end up working for them, anyhow?"

She glanced up at him, but he was starting straight ahead, over her shoulder. Ken studied her while she wasn't looking. Her hair was a bit lighter than Yohji's, and the gentle waves fell almost to her elbows. She had the same emerald eyes, though, and the same long, lean build. Eventually, she gave a small sigh, hunching her shoulders in the same way her brother did.

"Well, I might as well start from the beginning," she muttered to herself, trying to organize her thoughts. "Dad moved us back to Dublin when I was, what, seven? He was killed in a crash less than a year later."

Yohji snapped out of it. "What? Then, why didn't you just come back to live with Mom?"

Tori smiled at his simple-ness. "Because, Yo-tan, I was eight years old, in a foreign country. What could I do? Dad had no other family, so I was sent to an orphanage."

"But, didn't you tell them that your mother lived here?" Omi asked, finding himself getting caught up in her story.

Tori turned to look at him. "They didn't care," she said simply, "To send me here would have cost them more money, so they just sent me to a home. I was there three years before someone wanted to adopt me." Omi's big blue eyes were on her, almost overflowing with sympathy.

She turned back to her brother. "The couple who came to adopt me were actually Kritiker operatives, testing out a new program they were thinking of implementing. The executive members had thought, 'why recruit agents when you can grow them', so they had gone around to various orphanages to find their guinea pigs. There were about twenty in our group, and they trained us, taught us, and took pretty good care of us. However, they shut down the program six years ago, because three of our team-members went rogue and took out a high-ranking operative. I was allowed to transfer to a mobile team, where I was until I got the call to come here." She finished her story and leaned beck into the loveseat, crossing her arms over her chest and staring off into space.

Ken spoke up at last. "So, what is it exactly that you're gonna be doing for us on this mission?" he asked.

Tori straightened up and flashed a very familiar grin. "Once your other team-mate comes back, I'll let you know."

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After Aya had returned home, Tori had been forced to retell her entire story. Once Aya had gotten all the details from her he thought was necessary, they were then able to plan out the mission, changing and reforming ideas well into the night. Finally, once Aya was satisfied with the sound of things, everyone started to head off to bed.

Yohji excused himself, but instead of heading to his room, he slipped out the back door into the alleyway behind the shop. His head seemed to be spinning, and he was really hoping that a cigarette would help. He lit one up, and took a long, shaky drag. This was going to be a LONG week.

The door opened behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder to see the one person in the world that he wasn't ready to deal with right yet.

Tori reached into her pocket, knowing full well from the way Yohji's back had stiffened that he didn't want to speak with her just yet. She couldn't blame him, really. It wasn't as though she had really gone out of her way to get in touch with him…or their mother. She pulled out her pack and lit a smoke for herself.

Yohji turned at the sound of her lighter flicking. "What the HELL do you think you're doing?" he spat at her, snatching the cigarette from her mouth and tossing it away.

She coolly looked him in the eye as she drew another from her pack. "I am having a cigarette, obviously. As an adult, I have the right to do that. And if you try to stop me again," she cocked her head to the side and smiled slightly, "I might have to beat you up."

Yohji almost smiled as he thought back to their younger days, when they used to banter like this. But, he remembered, those days were gone. Now both of them were well trained, highly skilled killing machines. He shook his head sadly, his trace of a grin fading away.

"Just don't ever let Aya catch you smoking inside," he advised her.

Tori stepped closer and looped her arm through his, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "Yohji, if we can't be the way we were before, can you at least try to be my friend while I'm here?" she asked.

Yohji pulled her into him, resting his chin on top of her head. "I'd rather be your brother," he whispered.

Tori smiled. "I'd like that."

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The next day, the newest "employee" started work in the shop. Omi and Ken kept an eye on her, seeing as Yohji had gone back to his routine of sleeping late, and Aya was at the hospital with his sister. The two of them were quite pleased with Tori's progress; she had a natural gift for arranging flowers, and the shop was packed with not only the usual fan-girls, but also a new following of adolescent males.

"She's very good for business," Omi observed, "It's too bad we can't keep her here longer."

Ken nodded, glancing at his watch. "At least she's a better worker than her brother! It's almost time to close, and he's still not here!"

Omi shrugged. "It's almost a shame we can't ask them to trade," he muttered.

"The last order's done!" Tori called, making her way towards them through the crowd. At last, she reached the counter, brushing a stray lock of honey-colored hair from her face.

"Good, then you can deliver it," Ken told her, "Omi and I can close up, right?" He turned to face the younger boy, who was already starting to flush faintly. Ken turned back to grin at Tori. "Go make that delivery, and you're done for the night!"

Tori grinned to herself as she carried the bouquet to her car. She wondered, did those two really think they were fooling anyone?

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Dinner that night was a…remarkable event. Tori returned from her delivery just as Omi and Ken were finishing up in the shop. She pretended not to see the way they distanced them selves from each other as she walked in to hang up her apron. She found them quite amusing, really.

The three of them had then gone upstairs to find Aya staring into the kitchen, a look of horror frozen on his normally passive face. Tori stared over his shoulder at what looked like a war-zone. Pots and dishes covered every available surface, most of them dirty. It looked like the fridge had exploded all over everything, and she was pretty sure that there was something dripping off of the ceiling.

"Whose night was it to cook?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Yohji…" Ken moaned, "He usually just orders pizza! What was he thinking?"

"Oi! Over here!" the blonde called from the rarely-used dining room. The four of them stepped around the corner warily.

The large table had been cleared off, the various papers and books that had covered it were now piled somewhat-neatly in the corner. The best dishes were laid out, and there was even a lit candelabra in the center. What was even more astonishing was the food that was waiting for them.

"It almost looks edible!" Ken whispered, earning an elbow to the ribs from Omi.

"What is the meaning of this?" Aya asked, having gotten over his initial shock.

"It's a welcome dinner," Yohji replied, as though it was obvious, "For the newest member of our team!" He waved his arms, indicating that they should all sit.

Tori stared at her plate apprehensively, thinking to herself that this was probably the most dangerous mission she had ever done. Glancing around the table, she tried to force a smile as she took the first bite.

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The rest of the week passed fairly quickly, and before anyone realized, the night of the mission had come. Tori was in her room -- the small guest-room they had given her -- getting ready when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in," she called, tugging on her leather jacket.

Yohji peered around the door, pushing his sunglasses into place with one gloved finger. "Are you ready?" he asked quietly, fully stepping into the room.

"I will be once I get the rest of my belts strapped on," she replied. Yohji walked over to the bed and picked up the straps she was referring to. Each one held a small pouch, which held the various items she needed for her work tonight. He had asked her to show them to him earlier, but he still couldn't make heads or tails of half the items.

'As long as she can,' he thought.

She clipped the various straps into place with a cool familiarity, most of them attaching to hidden clasps within her jacket. The last thing she strapped on was her holster, its comforting weight resting on her thigh. "Now I'm ready," she stated.

Yohji glanced irritably in the direction of her weapon. "Guns are a little overdone, aren't they?" he asked, bringing up the same conversation they'd had days earlier.

Tori took a deep breath, offering him the same response. "I feel comfortable with it, and it is the weapon I chose when I started my training. Besides -- like I told you -- it's not just an ordinary gun." She quickly double checked all her equipment, more from habit than actually thinking she may have forgotten anything. "Okay, let's go."

The two made their way downstairs, where the others were waiting. "Are there any final questions?" Aya asked, looking into each of their eyes in turn. When he got no response, he nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Just remember to keep your ear-pieces on at all times, and when you hear the signal from Tori, get out. Her call-sign for this mission will be Pyro." Tori rolled her eyes at his utter lack of imagination.

Omi checked his watch. "Okay guys…and girl," he amended, "It's show time."

Tori walked with Ken to where his motorcycle was leaned against the wall in the alley. Yohji followed behind, and grabbed her by the shoulder before she could get on.

"I still think you should come with me," he said quietly, his face betraying his concern.

"Ken's drop-off point is closer to mine," she replied, stepping out of his grasp, "And besides, I'll be fine. I've done this a hundred times. Don't worry." She jumped on behind Ken, tugging on her helmet as she gave her brother a small wave. She wrapped her arms around Ken's waist, and they peeled off.

"Please, be careful," Yohji whispered.

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Getting into the building had been easier than she had expected, but Tori was quickly running out of time to locate the file-room. She didn't run into any guards on the first floor; at least none that were still alive. She saw a few in various poses of death as she made her way down the hall, but she forced their images to the back of her mind as she checked the rooms she passed.

She was starting to worry that the information Kritiker had given them may have been faulty: all the rooms she passed were empty. No furniture, not even a scrap of paper in any of them. "Bombay, do you have any sort of layout for this place?" she whispered into her headpiece, ducking into a darkened doorway to collect herself.

The computer genius' voice replied almost instantly. "I'm just pulling it up. Okay, the only area that Abyssinian and Balinese haven't searched yet should be down the corridor to your right. It covers all the offices at the back of the building. That seems like the most likely place, to me."

"Got it," she replied, stepping around the corner he had indicated. The moment she stepped into this new hallway, a cold feeling gripped her gut. She didn't know what it was that seemed wrong, so she pushed it aside for the moment.

A few doorways ahead of her, she finally saw a sign of what she was seeking. A faint glow came from beneath a slightly open door. She cautiously peered through the opening into the room. It was empty, save for a single desk with a computer on it, facing away from her. The only chair was vacant.

Stepping forward, she pushed the door open enough for her to slip through. Two steps into the room, her foot collided with something, tripping her. She fell to her knees, stopping her fall with her hands. She spun her head to see what it was that had tripped her, and found herself face-to-face with what had once been a security guard. His lifeless eyes stared blankly at the ceiling as he lay sprawled on his back. He had been shot in the chest, though by his own weapon or someone else's, she wasn't sure. Again, an uneasy feeling shook her. Something was definitely amiss.

"Bombay, I've found the room," she reported, "It looks like the files might be on their hard-drive. Didn't you say Abyssinian and Balinese hadn't made their way down here?"

"That's right," the voice came through her headset slightly fuzzy, "They cleared the front halls, then moved up to the second and third floors. Why, is something wrong?"

"No, it's probably nothing. Stand by for my signal." She frowned, that strange feeling in the pit of her stomach churning even stronger than before. Pushing herself slowly to her feet, she made her way around the desk to start her work on the computer.

One glance at the small device beside the monitor confirmed her worst fears. Jamming the all-call button on her headset, she yelled, "Everyone out now! Someone beat us here!"

The room she was in had no windows, so she bolted into the hall, ripping out the pouches strapped to her jacket that held anything combustible. She quickly tossed them over her shoulder, as far down the opposite end of the hall as possible. At the end of the hall ahead of her, she remembered seeing what she guessed was a meeting room, which had floor-to-ceiling windows.

Mentally counting down in her head, there was no way she could make it there in time. She threw herself sideways into an adjoining corridor just as the first blast rocked the building. It was followed quickly by a blast of heat and a second, larger explosion which would have been the materials she'd had in her pockets just seconds earlier.

Smoke filled the air, making it impossible to breathe. She pulled her t-shirt over her nose as she made a run for the meeting room. Flames were already spreading this far down the hall, and she knew that as soon as she added fresh oxygen, this place was going to turn into an inferno. Running straight for the windows, she pulled her gun out of its holster and fired a single shot. As the window shattered, she jumped for it, the force and heat from the blast behind her throwing her head-over-heels into the parking lot outside.

She landed hard, knocking the wind out of her, and skidded a few feet before rolling to a stop. She lay there, gasping for air, willing her aching body to move. Finally, after a few minutes, she was able to start crawling further away from the burning building. She heard a loud rumbling, and turned to see the top two floors collapse onto the first.

With a start, she remembered her team-mates inside. "Abyssinian? Balinese?" she choked into her headset, not sure if it was even working. A moment later, she heard her brother's voice -- if a bit shaky -- respond, "What, you ask if he's okay first? Tsk…"

Tori smiled weakly and lay her face down on the cool pavement, feeling a cozy blackness overtaking her.


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So??? What do you think so far? Lemme know!!!