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Old 2012-01-09, 04:48   Link #17265
wavehawk
Some say I'm the Reverse
 
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Fic rewrite is slow going. Like pulling teeth with Linyin---no anaesthesia...
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July 4

There was just enough evidence to make it stick, Haruko thought as she confirmed her information. Alone again in the apartment, she was finishing up her report on the recent incident.

The man whom [Ren] had cornered had been put under arrest on illegal firearms possession charges, a moderate offence under Japanese law. In the process, Kokuto had found their suspect had a previous history of stalking female students. Reports had been made previously, despite never reaching a conviction. By combining the two unrelated offences, things were easier for his prosecution.

She saved the report, and then paused to focus on an object on her desk.

It was the tracing chip [Ren] had given to her. As the man was now incarcerated, there was no point in leaving the device on. Haruko once again regarded it, the almost insignificant dot hiding under artificialscar tissue. Indeed, the bulk of the device was made of fake skin. The Johohonbu and other intelligence agencies worldwide would make fake hair, scars or even teeth to mask the tiny tracing chip underneath. A chip that was smaller than a grain of sand, yet contained gigabytes of processing and transmitting power.

IS technology goes into things like this too, Haruko mused. Not long ago, a tracking device half a centimetre long would only transmit for a week at most. Even then it was unreliable and stood out like a sore thumb, making long-term surveillance difficult. Thus even with the most sophisticated surveillance equipment possible, people on foot were still needed to track individuals under observation. It simply was not possible to make a smaller tracing device. Data quantization, a technology developed alongside the Infinite Stratos, was the solution. The advent of this technology made much smaller instruments practical, if restricted to intelligence agencies.

It wasn’t the device or its use that bothered Kokuto. Rather, it was [Ren]’s unwillingness to share information about the matter. Haruko had no idea if it was an investigation or an abuse of the organization’s resources. She could find no recorded orders for tracing chips from Johohonbu HQ, or if [Ren] was keeping track of her targets. Nothing at all could be found on the computer they shared, which did not surprise Kokuto in the least.

The door opened and closed, prompting the analyst to watch [Ren] enter the apartment. The girl seemed to betray no emotion at all as she entered wordlessly, tossing her baseball cap and jacket aside as she dropped onto her bed.

Haruko kept her awkward silence for a moment. There were plenty of questions she needed to ask, but she was sure none of them would be answered. At least, not with a straight face.

“I’ve ordered a bunk bed.” Kokuto blurted out, the words falling clumsily from her lips. “You can’t make me sleep on the floor forever, you know.”

[Ren] did not seem to care. “Do whatever you want. It’s HQ’s money.”

“I want the bottom bunk.” Haruko paused only a second to wait, for a response that never came. She continued to explain her reasons, regardless of whether her partner cared to know. “And a proper table, too. You can’t expect me to eat or read at this tiny desk.”

[Ren] still gave no response. Haruko could see he girl’s eyes were open, even though she lay on the bed as if sleeping. She wondered if [Ren] slept like a snake did, with her eyes open the whole time. The analyst then tried another angle of conversation.

“About that guy you cornered? They managed to get the firearms charge to stick.”

“Spit it out.” [Ren] impatiently replied, suddenly sitting bolt upright on the bed. The eyes fixed onto Kokuto like a viper ready to strike. “What are you REALLY asking me?”

And there we have it. Kokuto bit her tongue, mainly to keep from speaking her immediate thoughts aloud. There weren’t many questions to ask, but she decided on the one that bothered her the most. “Orimura Ichika. Why are you so fixated on him?”

[Ren] did not respond, other than looking away. A few seconds passed before Haruko realised that it was an affirmative response.

“You’ve met him before, haven’t you?”

“Aren’t you a genius.” [Ren] still did not look at her. For the first time since they’d met, Haruko found her partner trying to avoid her gaze. Like how a snake avoided the gaze of one superior to it. “There are things you don’t need to know.”

“I’m supposed to be your support. I can’t support you if you’re not level with me.”

[Ren] took her time in answering. “You’re treading dangerous ground.”

“Bite me.” To the best of Haruko’s knowledge, they were not to make personal contact with Orimura in any way. The whole point of the assignment was to protect that individual from threats most people were blissfully unaware of. “When did you first meet him?”

“Long before I joined the Johohonbu.” [Ren] responded, still avoiding Kokuto’s gaze.

I am SO not liking where this is going. The ground at Kokuto’s feet felt like it was crumbling as fast as her career aspirations. “There’s more to it than that, right?”

“You don’t need to know.” [Ren] swivelled to lock eyes. Haruko did not flinch, despite the cold gaze that chilled her bones.

“I think I have a right to know.” Kokuto reiterated, oddly confident in her speech. “How far back did you know Orimura?”

Shut up.

Before Haruko could push further, [Ren] leapt off the bed and stalked off. She was out of the apartment in seconds, again leaving Kokuto hanging.

Congratulations. Haruko felt a migraine fast approaching. [Ren] tended to disappear for hours at a time without explanation. Quite often it was after Kokuto had already gone to sleep. Here’s hoping she doesn’t stab me to death when she gets home.

It was then she remembered the tracing chip on the desk.

Taking out her own mobile phone, Haruko began to smile as a plan formed in her head.
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