Friday 1.3

[ginnyvos.livejournal.com]

//Nagi. Naaaagi. Naaaaaa-kun. Wake up. Brad wants coffee, and he asked if you would make it.//

Nagi groned and burried himself in the warmth around him. After a bit, as the pestering got to be too much, he groaned again and collected his mind enough to send back //He must not really want to wake up then... Can't you make it? You're obviously very awake...//

He was tired. He was groggy and he didn't care about the world outside right now because he was also warm and comfortable and it seemed he'd survived the night without nightmares. Miracle of miracles. 

He guessed it had a lot to do with him being in Farf's room though, the older man protectively curled around them.

He tried to go to sleep once more but it was to no avail. //Damn it! If you want me to wake up than you have to give me some of your coffee...//

He cuddled into Farf a little more.

Comments

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

[Continued from Friday 1.1]

Schuldig quickly rinsed off, catching the towel Brad threw at him and stepping out of the shower, wrapping the towel around his waist. He paused beside Brad, watching him in the mirror for a bit before smirking.

//That's fine. Have some of my coffee. Make a whole pot of it. I'm in a sharing mood.// His mental voice was laced with a sated kind of satisfaction. As if Schuldig was really happy for the first time. //Let me know when it's ready. I need a cigarette.//

He wrapped his arms around Brad, pressing a kiss to the base of his neck. "I'm going to go smoke." He said, smirk still firmly in place as he pulled away.

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Brad went through the familiar motions - pulling his grooming tools from their drawers and off of shelves, in precise order, laying them out in order of use. The familiar routine was calming and centering so much so that he never felt Schuldig's eyes on him.

A hug and a kiss, so simple a gesture. It was nothing really when compared to the other things they had occupied their morning with already. But still, it nearly startled him. It had been unexpected and such a casual touch was so unfamiliar that Brad wheeled around without thought, hands tight but not yet balled into fists.

He closed his eyes with a sigh. This was going to be difficult for so many reasons. While in the heat of the moment things were much different than the rest of the waking hours left between them. This just brought that realization into focus.

His eyes slowly cracked open, settling on the redhead as he reached out a hand, his thumb again tracing the purple borders just under his eye and along his cheek.

"...okay..." Brad murmured low, as he tried to find some sort of perspective.

"In the mood for breakfast?" Hopefully, the change of topic would eleviate his discomfort.

[ginnyvos.livejournal.com]

well damn it, that was not what he had in mind. And he felt entitled to some cursing as Schuldig had been the one to teach him so. But really, schuldig sounded awake in a way that he never had before. Couldn't he make the freaking coffee?

//I can't prepare yours propperly, weren't you the one to say so? Make it your own damn self and come bring me some... Than I might be prepared to wake up...//

Nagi was about to snuggle into Farf again when a ball of fur suddenly launched itself at his belly before tumbling off and climbing back up in one fluwid motion.

''wha- Miles? Is the whole world out to keep me from sleeping in just a little or what? What time is it anyway...?''

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

//I'm busy. Besides, Brad specifically asked me to ask you to make it.// Schuldig replied to Nagi, smirking a bit.

"Yeah, breakfast will be good." He replied to Brad just a split second later. "I'll be back inside when Nagi decides to get out of bed and make coffee." He said, tugging the towel tighter as he left Brad to continue his hygiene. Though speaking of which, he could probably use a shave himself. But the priority now was a cigarette or two. Stress and more stress followed by lots of sex...

He went into his own bedroom, grabbing a pack from his dresser and climbing out on the fire escape to light up.

He had a feeling things were going to get complicated.

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Brad just nodded and returned his attention to the mirror. He went through his usual morning routine on auto pilot, revisiting the vision from last night, grateful that simple memories didn't also bear the same pain as the vision.

All the details were there. As if it had all just been laid out for him. Usually his visions were third person - he just witnessed events as a neutral onlooker, only pulling details as they were presented in the pictures at hand. He didn't know what this meant as far as his talent was concerned. There was no record at Esset or Rosenkreuz of anything like this ever presenting in a precog before. And the physical damage... that was somethnig he needed to get under control fast. If it could be controlled.

Brad rinsed his razor, putting everything away exactly as he had found it, cleaning up the counter and wiping down the bowl of the sink. He left nothing to betray that he had even been there. Only the used towel in the wash basket held any evidence at all. Once satisfied that his bathroom was left as he preferred, he headed into his room to get ready for the day.

Even as he dried off and started to get dressed he could feel the familiar pressure building at the base of his skull. The morphine was losing ground quickly, the visions were returning to their usual veracity. And with it, another vision made itself known - this time Nagi and his impending mission. Brad chuckled silently to himself. Bombay was going to be ... difficult. But Brad paid it little mind. Nagi would succeed - that was all that mattered.

Brad slipped into a dress shirt and slacks without a second thought - all this - drama - had him feeling the need to regroup and refocus. He never put much thought into why he preferred the suits and ties and ostentatious business attire but it was what he was comfortable in. What declared his control without him needing to say a word. It was all programming, imbedded so deep he'd never recognise it as such. In these small ways, he'd never truly be free of his past and his subconscious knew it and accepted it.

He headed out into the kitchen, a bit peeved that Nagi hadn't begun the coffee. He began setting up the machine when a scent caught his attention. He paused with the bean grinder in hand and took an investigative sniff of the air around him. Sour, fetid... he knew that smell however faint it might be. He poured the grounds into the machine and set it aside for the moment. He followed the scent to the trash can and immediately began looking around the kitchen for the little ball of fur.

Brad hadn't seen Miles while passing through the hallway, or the living room either. With a creasing of his brow be began gingerly picking through the contents of the can sincerely hoping that Farfarello hadn't had an episode of late night boredom. His fears were waylaid as he found one of his rather sizable Kobe steaks, turning shimmering shades of metallic green as it slowly began to decompose. A small scowl accompanied a deeper creasing of his brow. He abandoned the can as is, washed his hands at the sink and continued with the coffee.

That had been half of his breakfast plans.

[ginnyvos.livejournal.com]

//I'm busy. Besides, Brad specifically asked me to ask you to make it.//

Nagi sighed again before wiping the sleep from his eyes. If Crawford had specifically asked for him, there was nothing to it. He took a long moment to asses his current position and then carefully scooped Miles from his belly with one hand, while using the other to carefully untangle himself from Farf. At least the other man deserved his sleep, he supposed.

The cat was apparently perfectly happy to be manhandled as long as it meant he would get some attention. Rolling his eyes, Nagi made his way to his own room, throwing a passing glance at his humming computers before donning a clean shirt and pants.

Before going to bed, he'd used the cable they'd picked up the day before to fix his precious computers and set his search engines running. They were doing their job, but he guessed analyzing the results could wait. Coffee first, computers later.

Done dressing, he scooped Miles up from where the cat was chasing his own tale on the bed and made his way to the kitchen, still only half awake.

Nagi walked into the kitchen not paying attention to much else but the cat trying to get free of his grip and it was only when he heard someone moving around that he looked up.

"... Oh," he finally said, looking a bit sheepishly at Crawford, who had apparently giving up on waiting for Nagi to get his coffee and went to make it himself.

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Crawford passed Nagi a sharp glance as he finished stowing the coffee supplies back in their cabinets as the coffee maker gurgled to life. He turned to rice steamer and set it up as well.

He had wanted Nagi to get a good night's sleep. He couldn't be too cross with his late arrival. By the look of him he had slept soundly, especially if he was having trouble waking.

"Any idea why there is a steak in the trash can?"

[ginnyvos.livejournal.com]

Nagi held his face carefully blank as he considered the question. Lying and pretending he didn't know was not an option, this was Crawford after all. Accusing Schuldig directly though... Not much of an option either. Finally, he settled for simply saying; "Ask Schuldig, he knows," and left it at that. After all, it really wasn't his business to begin with.

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Brad walked over to Farfarello and handed him his coffee, already prepared.

"Glad you could join us... we have things to discuss this morning." Brad passed off the mug with a bit of a crooked smirk.

He finished the last details of breakfast and started bringing the food to the table. A pile of toast, rice with plain egg for Nagi, omlettes for the rest of them stuffed with ham and cheese... heavy on the ham.

Brad sat down and with a big swig of coffee dug in. He was starving - a sure sign that his talent was doing something and that whatever it was, it wasn't finished yet.

'We have a busy day. It will feel a bit like old times, I think. Everyone up for it?' The question, of course, was rhetorical. It wasn't in Brad's nature to actually offer an option. He never had before. But, maybe this first time, he was actually in the mood to entertain the answers.

[ginnyvos.livejournal.com]

Nagi smiled at Farf when the man walked in. He still looked tired, to the point where Nagi would've turned the tables on him and sent the man back to bed had they not been around their teammates.

He almost turned and smiled at Crawford as well as the man handed him his rice and egg, but managed to restrain himself. His teammates were right, maybe he was going soft. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind, not really interested in examining it at this very moment.

He was helped in this task by Crawford's next words.

Nagi caught the man's eye and gave him a firm and solemn nod. He was still an important part of Schwarz and he would do his job as good as ever, no matter what might've happened in the last few days.

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

Schuldig watched Brad cook with all of the interest of a cat, meaning he tried to look like he couldn't care less, while inside he was eagerly anticipating. The moment the omlettes hit the table, he was the first to grab his, claiming it by pouring ketchup all over it.

It was a trick they all learned on Rosenkreuz. The weirder and less appetizing you make your food, the less likely someone is to try and take it away. It explained his love of sauerkraut that went above and beyond his German heritage.

He didn't answer the question, since it wasn't a question that required an answer, instead he cut a large piece of omlette off and shoved it in his mouth, waiting for Brad to continue discussing things at them. Besides, he was there when the plans were hatched. He knew what was coming, but there was no need to chime in.

Brad was the planner. Schuldig was just a schemer.

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Brad sipped at his coffee and continued his breakfast with all the manners and decorum he usually employeed despite his ravenous hunger. Rosenkreuz hadn't lent him the same idiosyncracies as Schuldig. Quite the opposite, Brad distinctly did not alter his food but rather ate it slowly and deliberately, hoping someone would try and take it from him. It had only happened three times and those three who braved it ended up in the infirmary for days. It was the perfect excuse to beat someone without catching hell for it himself.

He passed a glance around the table, the second time in as many days. Schuldig felt full disclosure about his visions was necessary. He did agree that Nagi and Farfarello needed to know something but certainly not the full extent of his troubles. There was nothing any of them could do about it and Nagi, in particular, would just worry. Retreating into the mission was not just Nagi's coping mechanism.

"Nagi, I do not know what this connection is with Balinese but we will use it as long as it persists. He will come looking for you this afternoon along with Bombay..." Crawford smirked to himself as he took another sip of coffee. This was the first and only time anyone had actually taken the initiative to track down Nagi by his school uniform. It was amusing that that bit of misdirection was actually seized upon now by Weiss, of all people. "... they'll be lurking just outside the rear courtyard of Hibiya high school by last bell. You can deliver our message about the theater then. I trust that you can handle it alone."


Brad reached for some toast, smearing it with blackberry jam. "There are obviously more than a few copies of this weapon. This is going to get much more involved than I had hoped." Simply tracking down 'Johnson' was not going to be as easy or as final as Brad originally anticipated. He wasn't sure exactly what was at work behind all this but his intuition was rarely wrong. And he wasn't inclined to call up a vision on it. Not now. All he knew was that this was just the beginning of something much larger. Their vacation was over. he needed more information to work with and that meant only one thing.

"Schuldig, you will be paying a silent visit to the Koneko. Listen for what they know of Sato, and anything else of interest. Nagi, if you can coax any information out of Bombay, do it. They will be interested in asking questions, ask a few back. If they feel they are getting something in return they will talk. Quaint concept... equal exchange... That is how you will deliver the message. Let them coax the details from you. Oh... and don't forget to take a bookbag. Maintain the cover."

Usually Brad was a bit more formal in his mission briefings. They certainly never involved blackberry jam before. This was actually comfortable.

"Farfarello and I have a side project to deal with. But, in all, it will be an easy day right up until the theater tonight. Any questions?"

Brad sipped at his coffee as he looked to them all. Moreso than ever before, he was relaxed and actually looking as if he actually meant that final question as an actual question.

[bloodyfarfie.livejournal.com]

Farfarello's own 'breakfast rituals' were closer to Crawford's; he had had a few people try to take his food, and had been punished severely afterward. Of course, Rosenkreuz didn't like when their students were either killed, or maimed beyond usefulness. Farfarello hadn't really cared about the punishments; after a few times, no one had even come near him, the times he'd been allowed to eat with the general school populace.

The Irishman had been keeping an almost suspicious eye on Crawford as he started to eat, silent for now. Despite what Crawford thought about how much he and Nagi did or didn't need to know, Farfarello wanted to know everything that was happening with his leader. If something came up, if Crawford was knocked out with another vision while he was the only one around, he wanted to know what was going on.

He really didn't appreciate not being 'in the know' when it came to something as important as his team's well-being.

An eyebrow lifted slightly at the mention of him working with Crawford on a 'side project', but didn't say anything just yet, knowing that he'd hear about it later. If Crawford didn't go into details just then, there was a reason for it. Usually.

[ginnyvos.livejournal.com]

Nagi ate slowly, considering. His... Connection, with Balenese? He supposed there was one, upon closer examination. At the very least, Balinese had to have felt some sort of connection to him to follow him in the street, and their conversation afterwards... Also, the whole business when Kudou was their hostage and the simple fact that Nagi hadn't killed him on the spot the day before after the... Incident with Tot was surprising in the least. There were very few people who could've boasted on surviving something like that and it was limited to his team and Tot... And Kudou, apparently. Odd... And something to examen closely later on. Weiss was the enemy after all, had been from the start. But... Not so much, really, when you looked under the surface. After all, had they really been enemies, they would've been dead a long time ago. Or ruined. Schu and Farf would've delighted in that... Which would make them enemies. Hmmm...

In the end it came down to one thing though, Crawford had said very early on that they weren't to be killed or maimed (too badly), that they would still be useful. There were precious few who could boast antagonizing and getting in Schwarz' way so often and surviving it. In Nagi's experience, that made them almost friends.

And that didn't even touch on his and Tsukiyono's virtual hacking wars, that over the years had become almost like a game.

That brought him to the other parts of Crawford's assignment. He was to meet Kudou and Tsukiyono, who would apparently come looking for him... At the school he was supposedly going to. He tended to forget that the school uniform he wore was more than just clothing. It was simply what he often wore.

"Theater?" he finally asked, frowning. "What about a theater? And which one?"

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

Schuldig quirked an eyebrow at Brad, but continued eating and looking otherwise completely neutral. Inside, though, he worried a bit. The vision might have done more mental damage that he first thought. He had been too concerned with the physical damage it had done.

However, he would leave the explaining to Brad, unless the man collapsed on the floor. He didn't think it would happen, but who knew right now.

He was just glad the rest of them realize how bad it was. He almost wished he could be right there with them. Ignorance is bliss and all that.

[(Anonymous)]

Brad looked at Nagi, momentarily confused by his question then looked to Schuldig.

"I assumed Schuldig had filled you in."

For Schuldig to have said nothing at all, even about the mission details, meant that he was far beyond worried. And, for once, Brad couldn't fault him for it. Brad needed to see the redhead through this, as well as Nagi and Farfarello. The key was finding a way to see himself through it as well.

It was time to break his silence.

"I had a vision last night. The weapon will be tested tonight in a movie theater. It is too big a risk for us to deal with it alone. That is why we are going to send in Weiss. We'll pick up the pieces we need after they deal with the disk. That is the message you will be delivering. Tokyu Theater, Shibuya Station - the movie starts at 8:30pm the attack will be at 8:47pm."

Brad sipped long at his coffee, draining the cup, then stood to refill it. He was stalling. His instincts told him to do as he had always done - only provide information on a need to know basis. Spelling out his weaknesses was hard for him to admit to himself more or less to his subordinates.

Subordinates.

He glanced at each of them as they ate. They were no longer his subordinates. They were no longer technically a team. They were together solely by choice now. Brad couldn't find a word in his considerable vocabulary to adequately describe what their ties to one another had evolved into. Nagi and Farfarello needed to know. If they found his damaged talent useless, or worse, a liability as Schuldig had originally suggested, they could chose to leave. Crawford had to face that possibility. He didn't free them all just to enslave them to his will.

"My visions are... changing. I didn't only see Soundwaver being put to use, I heard it. Experienced it. It was full emersion, the same as being there. We will NOT put ourselves at risk. This is Kritiker's mess and we will leave it to them to clean it up."

Brad returned to the table, focused on the plate in front of him. He didn't know what to expect in response.

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Brad cocked half an eyebrow at Schuldig but said nothing. The redhead always had the right thing to say to keep Nagi at an even keel. Navigating Nagi's emotional outbursts was a minefield and Brad would always be entering it blind. It was best to let Schuldig do what needed to be done - he could always question him on his choice of words later.

The explanation and Schuldig's qualifying backup seemed to do the job. Both Nagi and Farfarello seemed placated for the time being. He could continue with mission specifications.

"The earplugs I gave you - no one is to leave the suite without them. Until I can further analyze the disk, they are the only protection we have and I'm not certain how effective they will be. That is why we need Weiss. Nagi, you'll be taking the same earplugs with you - we will let Weiss test their efficiency. The agent who will deploy the weapon will be our only link to Johnson and some answers. I have a bottle of sodium penathol for Bombay's darts. They will want to ask their own questions and the drug will get them their answers. We will keep our distance until we are certain this copy of the weapon is destroyed - then we can step in and retrieve the captive. Nagi, it wouldn't hurt to suggest that Schuldig can get answers out of the agent that Weiss cannot. We don't need Siberian carving up our only informant."

Brad took another sip of coffee as he looked to each of them. And as he paused on each of them a small snippet of a vision presented itself. The precautions he was taking seemed to be effective. There was nothing dire in store for any of them. Both Schuldig and Farfarello were hazy but that was to be expected going into a mission with so little information. Both of them could be unpredictable, their outcomes were not always written as clearly as his own and Nagi's. If any of the possible paths they chose to follow would lead to disaster, he would see that possibility and it was not present this time around.

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

A wicked smile crossed Schuldig lips at the idea of getting his hands on one of Johnson's men. Weiss would assume Nagi meant his telepathy as the "alternate means" of information retrieval. And sure, he would resort to that... but only once he got bored.

He was certain that between himself and Farfarello, they could come up with methods of torture that Weiss would never consider, and would never enact if they even did think of it.

"It's going to be a good night." Schuldig chuckled darkly, stabbing at his bloody looking eggs with his fork.

[ginnyvos.livejournal.com]

Nagi made sure to commit every possible detail of the briefing to memory in the same way he always had. It didn't seem to hard. Weiss always seemed to have an inherent need to safe 'innocents'. If Nagi told them there were lifes at stake, therd was no way they would stay away... Even if they only half believed him.

He was curious to see face tto face with Tsukyono and have an actual conversation with him. He also had to wonder how much of their encounters of the last few days Kudou had relayed to his teammembers. If the man chose to be suisidal enough to confront him on their encounther the day before... Nagi didn't know how well he would be able to handle himself... And Kudou had proven himself quite suisidal already.

If Crawford trusted him to get the job done alone however, he would not disappoint.

Finally Nagi looked up from his breakfast, almost finished with it. "How much of my previous orders are to be retained and worked on?"

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Farfarello and Schuldig had both been a bit too pent up lately. They needed a decent mission to work the - urges - out of their systems. Schuldig, at least, could be redirected but only so many times. And Farafello - there was no redirecting the urges that pulled at him. Sometimes they just needed an outlet. A controlled outlet. If they weren't given one - well - there would not be enough blood in Tokyo to satisfy him.

He glanced in Nagi's direction. "Every scrap of information you can find could be useful. Continue your search."

He returned to the remaineder of his breakfast, satisfied with the gameplan for the day.

[bloodyfarfie.livejournal.com]

Farfarello eventually finished his breakfast and got up, bringing his plate and empty coffee cup to the sink and leaving it there before getting himself a large mug of coffee, adding more than a little sugar and cream to it. As he stirred it, he headed back toward the table and just leaned against it, lifting an eyebrow at the others.

His attention turned toward Crawford after a short while though, head cocking to the side slightly, "When are we goin' about our little 'side project'?" He could use a couple more hours of sleep if it wasn't going to be until tonight, but he had no idea what Crawford had planned - nevermind when.

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

It was rare that Farfarello actually looked tired. But there was a slight drag in his steps. A dead, placid calm on his face. Not only tired but possibly stressed as well. Both were rare and neither was good. This side project would certainly help alleviate some of the tension the Irishman might be feeling.

"I need some time to clarify the objective - call up a vision." His words were almost tentative. He wasn't certain of that course of action by any means but he couldn't learn to control this new aspect of his visions if he didn't use them. "... most likely, early this afternoon."

[bloodyfarfie.livejournal.com]

Farfarello nodded a little, but narrowed his lone eye at Crawford slightly, "Don't strain yerself.. If they're fuckin' with ya, don't push the visions too much. Believe it or not, some people get by just fine without needin' to see the future."

With that, the Irishman finished his scalding hot coffee in one swallow and put the mug down, stretching a little, "I'm gonna get a couple more hours of sleep while I can. Wake me up if ya need me." Farfarello waved half-heartedly and walked toward his room, pretty well just falling on his bed and letting himself fall asleep quickly.

[oracle-dreams.livejournal.com]

Brad eyes narrowed but he kept silent. He always did when Schuldig hit a nerve, especially when the redhead was right. He knew the vision was slowly eating away at him. The initial implications were so improbable to his mind that he simply tried to ignore them. But his psyche would never allow that. He subconsciously knew his visions never lied so outright denial wasn't a viable option.

Just because he didn't want it now did not mean that some sort of close emotional attachment to Weiss wouldn't be necessary in the future.

"I'm not buying Balinese's quietly concerned act. Bottom line, he is still an assassin and when push comes to shove that will be all that matters. Call him whatever you like but don't let yourself be swayed." Brad looked to Nagi, his annoyance draining away incrementally. He needed them to be focused in the ways he just wasn't at the moment.

Nagi was the most powerful among them but also the most vulnerable. Balinese had some sort of background information that just happened to include Nagi at his most vulnerable. If the blonde dared to try to use what he thought he knew, in any way, against Nagi, Brad would instantly rescind his 'no kill' order.

Brad headed in the direction of his office, looking back over his shoulder.

"The last time I had a vision like this... everything changed. These long range visions are harbingers of massive personal upheaval for me and, usually, those around me. The old cycle concluded with the death of the elders, and this new cycle is just beginning." A mirthless chuckle accompanied a small smirk. "Are you ready for the ride?"

[ginnyvos.livejournal.com]

Nagi sat at the table for a while after his teammates had left, overthinking everything that had happened and been said at the breakfast... And the fact that his teammates had left him to clean the mess. Again.

He might nog get dirty hands from handling dirty dishes but that didn't mean he appreciated doing theirs!

With a sigh, he started telekinetically gethering up plates, pans, cutlery and cups. The diswasher opened easilly and soon after the whole mess was neatly stacked into the machine. The tab came on and a cloth floated under it, flying over to the table like a strange, bright yellow bird of some kind.

Within minutes, the kitchen was clean - or clean enough, anyway - and Nagi had a satisfied smile on his face.
In his head he was already making himself a secudule for the day.

- Check his search programmes and deal with whatever info they had come up with over night.
- Incorporate new information in searches
- Figure out what he was going to tell Kudou and Tsukyono
- Meet Kudou and Tsukyono
- Do some more hacking.

Not quite his idea of a great day, but it could have been worse.