Chapter 8
The way to win over Schwartz was to go through their leader, Crawford. He had sensed that right off, though the one who had initially confronted him was the tall redhead, Schuldig. The other two and stepped aside, deferring to their leader and both were watching silently, awaiting his decision as he was. There was no doubt in his mind that if Crawford didn't agree, no matter how much the others agreed with him, they would follow his example. A team in the true sense of the word.
It made Omi realize exactly how close Schwartz was and that perhaps they were all even closer than Weiss has ever been. After all, how often had they seriously listened to each other, let alone either leader?
"You're saying that we should trust Kritiker because we have the same goals." Brad's tone was flat and not at all reassuring.
"Yes, that's it exactly." How much more plain did he have to be? Still, he understood his hesitation; they had been enemies for a long time and he was trying to determine if it was truly worth their time and effort when quite possibly they could be turned on in the end.
Schuldig glanced sideways at Brad as he felt his lover's gaze. There was a rather dark and apprehensive look about him, uncertain if this was to be their way out of danger or not. They could very well be walking into a trap and then where would they be? Was it worse to be captives of Esset or Kritiker? It was be much preferable to be free.
Brad shifted his weight slightly, watching as Omi's hand, that had been extended, dropped back to his side, his youthful eyes curious. There was something else in those eyes, though, that he couldn't quite place, something that did not seem all together sane. That look of desperation, of uncertainty he was familiar with, but he wanted to claim no connection to this boy, this assassin boy/man. Yet, looking at him almost reminded him of Nagi, one whom he had tried to protect in the only way he could, a child who had had no control over his fate and could only face it head on.
His eyes never left the blond as he addressed their youngest member. "What do you think?"
A broad question, Nagi knew, his deceptively blank eyes skirting over Omi. What did he think of the situation? What did he think they should do? Or, what did he think of him? "If nothing else, we can trust this one."
The sharp eyes that shot him a look were surprised. Nagi did not trust anyone lightly. For a fact, he was generally suspicious and cautious around everyone, sometimes even them.
"So, a truce, then? With you, or Kritiker?"
Omi smiled tightly, his expression hardening ever so slightly. "Both. I speak for Kritiker and if I say we are allies it means you have nothing to fear from any of us."
"Including Weiss?"
"Yes, including Weiss. I doubt any of them would particularly want to see any of you again. The last time we met it wasn't exactly on friendly terms, as I'm sure you'll agree."
That rather went without saying. "It's possible a temporary truce could benefit all of us. We could help each other, for whatever length of time seems appropriate. Nagi." When he had his attention, he glanced in the blond's direction. "See if you can get any interesting information out of him and arrange a meeting in the near future. Our situation isn't exactly getting any better and I want to be able to pull out of here at a moment's notice."
Nagi hesitated, wondering if he should really remain behind as he asked him to. It would mean that Schuldig and Brad would have a chance to be alone together and that they might be able to work some things out. So, he made no protest.
"Oh, and if he does anything funny, kill him. We don't need them that much." The redhead sent him a look that told him to be careful before he followed after Brad.
Omi raised his eyebrows as he watch two of the Schwartz members leave. "Would you really?"
"What?" He blinked, watching as Schuldig and Brad disappeared from their sight, heading back to the compound. "Kill you?" At his nod, he shook his head vaguely. "Only if absolutely necessary. He meant it in jest."
"In jest? Really? Why is that?" There was obvious surprise in the other assassin's voice, having not caught anything but utter seriousness in Crawford's voice.
Nagi shrugged lightly. "He doesn't like me killing people." It gave him an odd sort of satisfaction to see the look of shock on Omi's face. He knew well enough that he had killed many people, most likely a lot more than he himself had. "In truth, Farfello does most of the killing and if it is not him than it is either Brad or Schuldig. I am the last resort, you could say. If I do kill, it's usually through my powers and with little or no blood involved."
That the quiet, solemn looking boy spoke at all, let alone was able to string several sentences together without much prompting was amazing on its own, but to hear that was even more so. "They actually - "
"Shelter me?" He raised a dark eyebrow at him, a curious look in his eyes, the first hint of emotion he had seen in them. "They do, I suppose, as any family would. But, we should discuss Esset and Rosenkreuz, especially. I do not trust them and I am certain that you share my opinion. What do you know of them and what can you tell me that might be useful to us?"
Omi forced himself to recover from his shock at hearing this enemy - ex- enemy, he corrected - referring to his vicious group members as "family". It never would have occurred to him that they would have been as close as he had been with Weiss. Closer, in fact, for he had only considered the members of Weiss his friends, not his family. "Rosenkreuz, Esset," he repeated, forcing himself to focus and recall all the reports he had read about them.
He became recalling every bit of information they had gathered about them, reciting them all to the dark-eyed young man. A lot of it he already knew, he could tell by the faint change in his eyes, but other bits and pieces were completely new to him. There was a lot that he could tell him, too, he was certain of it. "We are in the process of hacking into their computer system - we have most of the access codes now, but we still haven't been able to infiltrate it completely."
"It's not easy to get in," Nagi interrupted quietly, his mouth curling up into the faint resemblance of a grim smirk. "But it is quite possible."
This was interesting, indeed! What Nagi also a hacker of sorts? They would have a common bond in that and that information would indeed be very useful to Kritiker - no, to him. He didn't necessarily have to share anything with them, after all. "You've done it before, then?" At his nod, Omi broke into a genuine smile. "Will you tell me how?" was the next, more important question.
Nagi seemed to weigh the situation in his mind, considering exactly how far he could trust him then finally he nodded once more. "Yes, I can. It may take a while but I can tell you exactly how to get into their main database."
There was a quote that came to the blond's mind, a quote that he would never quote aloud for fear of sounding very foolish, yet he couldn't help but think that it was, indeed, the start of a beautiful friendship. They really should have tried befriending Schwartz years ago. It would have saved them quite a lot of trouble if they had.
Schuldig's eyes narrowed as they felt their Nagi behind with the young assassin. "Are you sure about this?"
"I thought this was what you wanted." Brad's voice was without emotion, but there was obvious curiosity in his eyes. He had felt certain that his lover had wanted to get the backing of their long-time enemy in order to free themselves of their currently less-than-pleasant situation.
"I do, but should we have left them like that?"
Always worrying about the boy, he thought with a mental sigh. "Nagi can take care of himself. You know he's perfectly capable of that."
"Yes, and yet I don't like the thought of leaving them alone."
"You don't trust Kritiker? That's not surprising."
The redhead paused, his eyes flitting back in the direction where they had left the boys, then he returned Brad's gaze fully. "That's not it, either. I have no reason to doubt him or his words, but I am getting the feeling that - no, it's ridiculous."
"What?" Anything that he picked up meant something and it always had. Schuldig was extremely perceptive, with or without his telepathy.
"I get the feeling that we aren't going to be seeing much of Nagi anymore, that he's going to leave us and I don't want that to happen."
"Why would Nagi leave us?" A horrible thought occurred to him. "You mean he's going to die?"
Schuldig shook his head quickly, assuring him that that was not the case. "It's not like that, I just feel - something like an absence, not something painful as in grief or sadness, just not there. I get it when I looked at that boy. Omi, isn't it?"
"What, you think Nagi would leave us for the boy? For Kritiker?"
A shiver raced up his spine and he shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. Perhaps not for Kritiker, but for the boy? Maybe."
"I'm supposed to get the precognitions, not you," he remarked softly, trying to hide the fact that he was greatly troubled by his words. He did not doubt that Schuldig believed what he said and he also had no doubt that whoever was suppressing his lover's abilities wasn't able to do so fully. Even if he might not be able to actively sense another's thoughts, subconsciously his powers were still there, lurking just below the surface.
He still did not trust Kritiker for they could not afford to trust anyone else, but at the very least they could be useful. Losing Nagi to them, though, that would be unforgivable. They had always been a team and he would not be parted from him; he had grown quite attached to him as the years had gone by and the world would be a lonely place without his silent glares that said so much and his loud, blaring music that nearly made them all go deaf.
"I have a bad feeling about this. About the future, not about Kritiker necessarily, but about this whole situation. Do we really have to stay? I don't think we should."
Brad was not quite ready to admit defeat. "You've said that before and I do believe you. Just one more day, Schuldig, and then we'll leave, no matter what happens."