Friday 1.12 A visit from a dead man

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

The bell to the Koneko tinkled, the visitor not bothering to wait at the entryway for assistance. Yutaro Sato locked the door behind him speedily and headed directly to the back of the shop. He descended into the mission room without pause, guessing - correctly - that would be where to find Weiss with a Kritiker liaison present.

Gone was the former cheerful smile, the man had a gaunt look and stress lines at his eyes and forehead. A weak upturn of the lips greeted Abyssinian and Manx. He forcibly grew it into a bright smile. He hadn't met Weiss' former contact in person, and she was younger than he'd supposed. The other redheaded Weiss looked deeply unhappy, but it could be he was reading into things. They hadn't exactly started out on the right foot.

He nodded to the two present, and remained by the stairs. Manx was Kritiker after all, and he did not have a deep knowledge of his coworker. "Balinese called me here. It is good to finally meet you." He nodded at the redheaded woman.

Comments

[bcmanx.livejournal.com]

Manx dipped her head and chuckled softly to herself. It might be a good idea for the man to hole up here at the Koneko with four assassins to protect him. He just did not seem to see the big picture.

"Their file reads like science fiction, doesn't it?" She relaxed her stance, her eyes falling on Ran where he stood. "We still are not sure how Weiss survived the collapse of the museum - relatively whole and intact - while thousands were crushed or drowned. True, there was a massive explosion that could have weakened the structure but that was not what brought it down. The only detail that we are sure of is that Schwarz orchestrated the whole thing. That team wanted their own organization destroyed and they have the resources, the experience and nearly god-like powers at their disposal to make it happen. Who knows what drives them now?"

She looked back to Sato, the small smile on her face more rueful than amused. "So... to answer your question... yes. They are more than capable of causing destruction on a terrifying scale without such a weapon. Money could be a motivating factor..." She looked to Omi as she crossed her arms.

"...so unless there has been any new information uncovered about Schwarz, I believe it is safe to assume that we simply have no way of predicting what they might or might not do."

She looked back to Sato.

"They left you alive. They kidnapped then released Yohji none the worse for wear. Do we even know if they were retrieving the disk for themselves or for someone else? They have laid low for months so why resurface now?" The questions were only posed as points to think on. There were no immediate answers to be had.

"Schwarz had been somewhat predictable while they were under Esset. They had orders to follow. In the museum, Oracle had gloated that they we looking only to cause chaos in an effort to bring down civilized society as we know it. And we already know they are more than capable of seeing that threat through. They nearly brought Japan to it's knees in the weeks before that final confrontation. So what are they waiting for?" These were all things she had personally thought on for months. Schwarz had become her own personal nemesis - she simply would not be caught unprepared should they have survived that night. And now, she was not so sure exactly how she felt about them knowing that they did still live.

"No. They do not need the disk. But..." Her eyes went a bit wide with a sudden realization. "... wait... if this disk is also capable of affecting talents..."

[aki-jade.livejournal.com]

Fuck.

Schuldig scowled, carefully probing at Manx's mind, trying to see where she was going with this train of thought. Either she just realized that they could use the disk to try and destroy Schwarz, or she just realized that they would want the whole project destroyed. They were two completely different ends of the spectrum, and, really, he needed to know.

But that damn fucking shield she had up, and was keeping up. He could break it with nearly no thought about it and steal the information that way, but he prided himself on being above the smash and grab telepaths he trained with in Rosenkreuz. He would find a crack. He had do. He skimmed along the surface of her shields, looking for any possible way to get at her thoughts without alerting her.

As for the others, it was an easy thing to blur their memory of those words she just spoke, blinding them to her possible epiphany. None of them would remember hearing the words that were just spoken. It would buy him a little time as he tried to figure out which way Manx was swinging with this.

[ginnyvos.livejournal.com]

"They aren't using the disk," Omi suddenly spoke up. "They have had the disk in their possession for a few days now, but they aren't using it."

It took real effort to put aside his view of Schwarz anything but pure evil, but if he did and looked at the facts... Yohji had seen it. Of course Yohji had seen it. Of the four of them, Yohji seemed to be the one that thought in grays the most. Omi himself had been blind though.

The acts they had committed before the fall of the tower, they were acts committed under the order of either Takatori or the organization they had destroyed. From Manx words, they had been all but owned by that organization.

True, they had seemed to take an ungodly amount of glee in doing what they had apparently been ordered to do, but... What if... What if they weren't out to use the disk. If they had, they would surely have used it by now? Sato said the disk was originally manufactured to 'cure' talents but was a disaster.

It was a possibility that Schwarz was not out to use them, only to keep anyone from using the disk against them. Self-protection, or the protection of ones team... Those were things Omi could relate to. Those were things Omi had killed for and would kill for again. So what was it that made Schwarz doing the same thing suddenly a crime.

All through his thought process, it was hard to hold the view he'd had of Schwarz ever since meeting them - the darkest of dark beasts, unnatural, sadistic and endlessly harmful - at bay. The thought of them being anything but that seemed preposterous even now. Could they have been so wrong?

The image of Schuldig using his sister against him came up and he mentally discarded his theory. It was nonsense. Schwarz were out to cause harm and chaos and needed to be stopped. It was as simple as that and he shouldn't let them mess with his head.

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

"They could have already given it away," Ran interjected. "We don't know chasing them down is going to even serve a purpose other than getting Weiss involved in something we have no control over."

He was relieved Manx was back. The traits of hers that had always grated on him only meant she was competent. He had no doubts that there was more to Sato than face value, no one moved up the ranks of Kritiker without some worth.

He hoped.

For the time being at least, it appeared their goals were in line and that they were on the same side. He eyed the man on the couch.

"Especially if there is a power struggle in Kritiker. Manx, have you...heard anything? What about Birman?" He could only assume that their two handlers would still be in contact.

[bcmanx.livejournal.com]

Manx shifted her position as Omi and Ran voiced logical but improbable alternate scenarios.

No - Schwarz wasn't using the disk but she seriously doubted that they would simply give away such a powerful weapon - even to the highest bidder. This weapon had the potential to affect them as well.

No - all the money in Tokyo wouldn't be enough. If she were in Oracle's position, she would hold the disk close, if, for nothing else, insurance that it couldn't be used against them.

Manx glanced sidelong at Ran, steeling her expression. As their handler, she would be quick with 'that's not your concern'. But she was no longer their handler. The simple fact that she was here, having this conversation, was as good as being a traitor to the organization. But it was no longer the Kritiker she had known.

"What I have heard is whispered rumor and innuendo. There are no hard facts to be had..." The statement almost sounded final, that hard edge that crept into her voice when she was delivering the final word on a subject rose but trailed off with her words. ".. the only 'fact' is that the last person to have passed along rumors had met with an unfortunate accident. there is nothing to prove that it had been anything but a random act of fate but somehow..." Again her voice faded as she turned away from them all.

Doubting Kritiker was as good as doubting herself. She had invested so much of herself into this lifelong mission that it was actually painful to even entertain such doubts. It seemed clear to her - something was dreadfulyl wrong in at the heart of the organization that had become her home.

"Birman is still in place here in the Tokyo division." She looked to Sato then between Omi and Ran and fell silent. She would not say more infront of this man no matter how convinced she was of his loyalty. He hadn't earned her trust that thoroughly.

"No matter what the big picture holds, right now, the disk is the main concern. And, unfortunately, we may just have to wait until Schwarz decides to show their hand. Hopefully, Ken and Yohji will be able to find Prodigy and, if nothing else, convey the message that we are waiting for their next move." She looked to them all, her eyes eyes hard, arms crossed tight across her chest.

"We can only hope that they do not operate the same way as they used to."