010

[contract_star]

[Hei appears, looking rather irritated, and promptly heads off along the Astral Plane, walking with a purpose and looking like he's searching for something.]

By M11, I think...

[Keeps walking, mostly in silence, though he mutters to himself occasionally. After a bit he comes upon his telescope and his expression darkens. The telescope has been knocked over and is lying on its side. Hei crouches down, sighing heavily.]

This on top of the rest of it...

[Disappears for a moment, coming back with a toolkit and a bag of sandwiches. He settles down and starts going to work on his poor, beat-up telescope.]

Comments

[contract_star]

Healing abilities can be unreliable, sometimes.

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

It's a miracle they could do as much as they did. The x-rays made my bones look like an archipelago.

[contract_star]

[Grimaces a little.] Then I guess it's lucky you have ones with healing abilities on hand.

How is the case going, otherwise?

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[Her expression darkens.] No more casualties. Not yet, anyway. But that means no new leads, either.

[contract_star]

[Quiet for a moment.] Sounds like he's planning something.

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[A beat.] Or they are.

[contract_star]

[Eyes widen momentarily. He's quiet for a bit as he thinks of all the implications of that statement.]

Contractors only come together for one reason--to protect themselves.

[Frowns.] If the Syndicate's gone, and their only other choices are PANDORA or government service...

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[She just lets him work it out for himself, her chin on her knees.]

I still think the child killings are an obeisance of some kind--like Havoc's, perhaps. But I think the display... I think it's some kind of calling card, or advertisement. [Disgust twists across her face.] The manner of display has been different every time, and every time, it's been done postmortem. They're showing off for potential members or potential customers--that's my guess, at least. No one else wants to consider it, the idea of Contractors having enough initiative to give themselves orders.

[She laughs bitterly.] I think they'd all like to forget Contractors like you, Contractors like April and November.

And especially Contractors like Amber.

[contract_star]

So they've gone and formed their own Syndicate. They probably won't be the last, either. They're good at being resourceful, after all.

[Smiles bitterly.] I suppose they would.

[Just stiffens at the mention of Amber.]

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[Lays a gentle hand on his arm.] Li-kun?

[contract_star]

[Looks at her, expressionless.] Yes?

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

Are you ever going to tell me what she did to you?

[A pause... and she decides to risk it.]

Or should I be asking what she did to Bai?

[contract_star]

[Shoots a brief, sharp glare at Misaki, wondering how much she knows--and how much she knows that Hei himself doesn't know. But then he looks away and stares at nothing, his face hard.]

You probably know that she was with my team in South America. I'm not exactly sure what she did, but she betrayed us--betrayed me. [Pauses, setting his jaw and keeping his voice controlled.]

Everyone I knew there was killed and Bai disappeared, along with South America.

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[And to that, she has nothing to say. She doesn't move her hand, though, just fumbles for the appropriate words... and then gives up. It's like her mother leaving, only several thousand times worse.

And so, she waits, tries to think of something appropriate, and then does what her father always did when she would ask about her mom. She hugs him 'round the shoulders without a word. And yes, it's awkward, because she is hugging someone, and she doesn't do that, but somehow she doesn't see anything else to do.]

[contract_star]

[Hei almost doesn't notice her trying to hug him, but then he does, and he reacts as he normally does when Misaki does stuff like this--which is to flinch a little and look rather shocked. But he lets her hug him, though he doesn't try to return it because he feels awkward enough as it is.]

[Eventually he pulls away from her, though.]

What was that for?

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[She twitches a little bit, embarrassed and feeling guilty for being so, and then slips her hand down his arm and tries to take his hand.] I'm sorry. That probably means nothing to you--an outsider's sentiment, how could it mean much? But I am.

[contract_star]

[Stares at her for a bit, then his gaze drops to the floor. He smiles just a little.]

Thank you.