Chapter 9
This dark haired, deep-eyed young man with the sullen expression was actually quite extraordinary and as their conversation continued he found himself becoming more and more drawn to him. What was his past? Where had he come from? Was Schwartz really all that close as he had implied? But he couldn't ask those questions because of the unspoken understanding that such things were off limits and shouldn't be discussed. That, and they had other matters to attend to.
"So, is that everything?" Omi asked, a smile - one of the first genuine smiles he had been able to muster in a long while - lightening his expression. He felt they had each reached a conclusion, having both confided as much in each other as they had dared to and, for his part, he knew he had said much more than he had really intended to. For some reason he found himself trusting Nagi despite the fact that this was the same person that had tried to kill him on several occasions. Well, tried, but hadn't actually done it and he knew for a fact that if he had really wanted him dead that he would not be standing there before him at all and there was no denying that.
He nodded solemnly. "I believe so. Shall we meet again this time tomorrow?"
"Right here? Okay, then. If I find out anything else that might be of interest to you I'll be sure to inform you then. We'll figure this all out together and we'll make sure that all of you are able to get out of here safely. No one, no matter who they are, should be subjected to any of Esset's or Rosenkreuz's devices." That was, without a doubt, true. Killing was one thing, but torturing someone, even if they rather deserved it - which he was beginning to believe that Schwartz did not - was quite another.
Nagi looked at him with a deceptively passive expression than turned to leave acknowledging and at the same time not acknowledging what he had said. He agreed with him that these people were not to be trifled with and that something definitely had to be done, but he was certain that he still didn't trust that he would reveal all the information they needed in order to escape their not so pleasant situation. That Omi could understand completely. Mamoru understood it better, though, because he did not trust anyone at all, not even when he had them under his absolute control.
Because, he knew, there was no such thing as "absolute control" and alliances could be broken, pacts ignored or forgotten, and what did it come to in the end? Nothing. Which was why when the time came he would act and capture the helpless Schwartz members and put them to death, put them out of their misery, the poor creatures. It would be doing them a favor. It was a good thing he had allowed Omi to gain their trust, but he would put the finishing touches on the deal.
Omi yelped in protest, but he quickly squelched him, a calm smirk decorating his face as he turned on his heel and marched back into Kritiker's territory where he was most comfortable. He sunk back in without incident - he would have to have security doubled with these stupid lax people about him - and fell into a peaceful slumber.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~He was intriguing, perhaps the most intriguing person that he had ever met with the exception of Schuldig when he was picking a part someone's brain. It had taken all his will power to remain calm and neutral in his presence and for him - having such a tight rein on his emotions and his abilities - that was extraordinary, indeed. It had been a while since his emotions had stirred inside him as they were not and not even the threat currently looming over them had done much more than momentarily capture his attention. There was something odd and yet familiar about Omi, this member of Weiss, this young man that was deeply involved in Kritiker as deeply involved as he was with Schwartz, perhaps more. Who could say for certain?
There were many things Nagi could do and many things he could do exceedingly well, but reading people was not one of his gifts. No, that was Schuldig's area of expertise and over the years he had relied very heavily on the redhead's judgment, as had Brad. Where Brad new business, Schuldig new people and how to handle them. Where Farfello could delve into senseless violence with no major problems - or at least no new ones - and withstand vast amounts of pain he, himself, was controlled and calm and extremely powerful. That was the beauty of Schwartz. They all balanced each other out and together they formed a perfect whole that worked better and more efficiently than any other. As long as they stood united was there really anything that could bring them down? It was, he supposed, still possible as everything was possible but in the same instance he realize it was improbable. No one had yet, at any rate and not for lack of trying.
Having considered that he knew that his encounter with Omi would not reveal as much information as Schuldig would have been able to. He didn't know his darkest secrets, couldn't tell if he was hiding anything from him at all, but he did know that there was something about him that was comforting. It wasn't the same as it had been with Tot, he was able to determine that right off. Tot, for all her cuteness, had been a silly little twit and yet she had been the only person that was anywhere near his own age that he could somewhat relate to. She, too, was an assassin and the elder members of her group had shielded and protected her as much as his had. There was that kinship there with Omi, that knowledge that "We're both assassins and we both can barely remember a time when we weren't because it's become our lives", but there was something else there that he couldn't place.
Normally such a thought would never have occurred to him, let alone bug him for any length of time. But he couldn't shake it. Schuldig, though, he would know and he would be able to tell him! Even though he had not spent much time in his presence, that hardly mattered; he was certain he had picked up more about him than he had. The problem was how to appear uninterested when he was really interesting in whatever information about him he could divulge?
He found Schuldig and Brad where eh had expected to find them and in the manner he had expected to see them in; they were wrapped in each other's arms looking deceptively at ease but there was tension in them that he could clearly see. Schuldig turned his head as he approached, his eyes gleaming with cat-like intensity as he licked his lips in a nervous short of gesture. "Rosenkreuz is requesting our presence within a few hours time and we are expected to go to them like obedient little test subjects." There was a hint of anger, but whether it was directed at Brad or not, he couldn't say. As it was they would continue to play the game as long as their leader thought they should.
"We are going, then?"
Brad nodded, not bothering to let go of his hold on Schuldig. "Yes, but in the morning we are getting Farfello and we are leaving. I think we have had just about enough of these people and their strange demands. We don't need them anymore."
"We'll be better off," Schuldig agreed. "Oh, so what did you think of the boy? Omi, isn't it?"
He shook his head, his eyes going distant for a moment. He dutifully recalled and reported on all the things they had discussed. It was true that he could have given them a word for word account yet he didn't feel that it was particularly necessary at this time so instead he gave them a summary of what they went over. They both seemed rather pleased with what he and learned and what he had told him. "That means he'll be able to get into their system now."
"Theoretically he could destroy them from the inside out."
"In theory, but I doubt they keep everything in there. Knowing Esset I'm sure they didn't." They fell silent, believing Schuldig would know that better than anyone else. "Of course, we can't always count on them, but in this case I feel that they will definitely do their fair share of damage before they even realize anything is wrong. And by the time they do they will only be able to recover so much and maybe they won't be able to recover anything at all. That won't stop them from abandoning their old plans and starting from scratch, though."
Brad agreed. "But it may stop them for a short while. Planning takes time."
"So, are we going to join Kritiker now?"
"We aren't going to join anyone." He paused for a moment, his eyes meeting both Schuldig's and Nagi's. "I think it's time we pulled up our roots and struck out on our own. We don't need the backing of any organization even though it was useful while it lasted. We have the means to survive as we are, as Schwartz and that's really all we need."
Something inside Nagi flinched at those words and he wondered if that was really such a good idea, though he knew he no longer wanted to be a part of Esset. Still, were they ready to be totally independent of everyone?
"What did you think of the boy, Nagi? I mean, what did you really think, not what you have to report? Do you like him?" There was a speculative tone to his voice that made him wonder exactly what it was that he knew about him, or at least what he had inferred from their brief encounter. Moreover, what did it have to do with him and what he thought of him?
"I'm not sure."
Schuldig arched one eyebrow at him. "Really? We'll see."
He quietly observed his friend but he could perceive nothing that would indicate why he had spoken those words in such a manner. It had to do with Omi, that much was obvious, but what else? No, it wasn't important to think about such things he had the matter of Esset creeping about to deal with and then he could confront this issue head on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Omi woke with a start, casting Mamoru out of his mind completely as he launched himself at his computer, recalling everything that Nagi had told him about. Why had he gone to sleep? He had information to gather!
In a matter of moments he was in the heart of Esset's computer, frantically searching for anything at all that would help him uncover this mystery. Then he found it, buried, quite hidden, within the depths of the computer banks. He had almost overlooked the file itself as it was titled cryptically "for", but his glancing eyes had interpreted it as "four" and as there were four members of Schwartz didn't that all follow the same line? Apparently it had.
There were still codes he needed, things to hack into, but having encountered these obstacles, he knew he had reached the right place. When he was finally able to open it he found the start of it said simply, "Schwartz Project". As he began reading further into it he began to feel more and more alarmed, his heart rate picking up, his eyes dilating. They were going to - they couldn't!
He stood quickly, fear and determination driving him. Then sense overtook him and he forced himself back into his seat, forced himself to print up a copy of the information. Then he backed quickly out of Esset and logged off. For a moment his mind whirled with these new facts and what he could possibly do about them. Mamoru growled at him, caged deep within him, but he forced him down, smothered him as best he could, and hauled himself to his feet.
Obviously he had to help them. No matter what Mamoru thought, he WOULD help them. Despite everything that they had done in the past they needed his help now and the greater evil in this case was Rosenkreuz's little "project". That, and if he helped them now it could be possible that they could become allies in the future.
Besides, he couldn't let anything happen to Nagi!