FullMetal*Panic!

The white van passed through the toll booth and sped along the Aqualine.

By all accounts, they had managed to make a successful escape. No suspicious looking vehicles followed the roundabout route they took to reach the expressway. There was no sign of a Venom A.S. storming after them.

“Looks like you’re going to be OK, Miss Chidori,” one of the Mithril soldiers said. “Things should go smoothly on the drive to Tokyo.”

“That’s… ummm, that’s great…” Kaname tried to smile, but failed. She pushed her hair out of her face, and then repeated something she had said more than a dozen times already. “I hope Sousuke’s OK, too.”

“I’m sure he will be, Miss. We can’t check at the moment, since our communications handset was destroyed.” The soldier shrugged. “I guess we’re all lucky to still be in one piece.”

Missiles from one of the Venom A.S.es had barely missed a direct hit on the van. Only the fact that they had been driving through narrow streets at a high speed had saved them. The missiles had been forced to use a steep angle of inclination, and could not duplicate the vehicles last moment turn into an alleyway.

Nevertheless, the nearby explosion had slammed the van against a stout brick building, causing it to run up along a stairway and flip over. Nobody received anything more serious than a nasty bump or bruise or two, and the van had been set back on its wheels with a modicum of grunting and swearing. However, the large handset had not survived the impact.

“I can’t believe that an organization like Mithril doesn’t give each of its soldiers a cell phone or something.” Kaname rubbed one hand over the other. “I mean… Sousuke… he always had something.”

“Well,” another soldier rubbed his head, looking embarrassed and apologetic. “We did each have something. But, since we were together as a group, a number of us simply left them in the bag. Our short range headsets were all that we needed for close combat.”

“Yeh. The bag got tossed in our other van. That’s where the big communications set was too.” A second soldier shrugged, and then grinned. “But, who would have thought that a teenage girl wouldn’t have a purse, and at least one cell phone.”

“I was at an airport,” Kaname said defensively. “My purse was in my carry-on bag.” Her voice went up a couple of octaves. “I decided to drop that when I was being chased by a bunch of stupid robots.” She tossed her hair, eyes flashing. “Is that alright with you, Corporal?”

The soldier held up his hands. “Whoa! I’m on your side, remember.” He managed to hide a smile.

“With friends like this….” Kaname grumbled. “Drive crazy, nearly killing me in a car wreck. Forget their communication stuff. Sit back here laughing at me.”

“Who’s laughing?” One soldier kept a straight face, while the other quickly put a hand over his mouth.

“Jerks!” Kaname folded her arms across her chest, looking away. “Hmmmpppfff.”

Both soldiers laughed, joined by a number of their squadmates. “I can see where she got the code-name ‘Angel’ from,” one quipped. He ducked when Kaname turned to glare at him.

“Seriously,” the Mithril Corporal said. “I’m certain that Sgt. Sagara will be fine. It’s not like he’s a greenhorn or something, right? It didn’t look like those assholes had enough Arm Slaves to make that boy break a sweat.” The soldier did indeed have a lot of respect for Sousuke. Nonetheless, there was a worried look in his eyes.

Kaname nodded, thinking back to Hong Kong. There had been five Venom A.S.es during that battle. Kurz and Melissa had told her that Sousuke had taken them down like they were RK-92s, without getting a scratch.

She let out a long breath. There were definitely reasons to be hopeful. Sousuke was one of the best Arm Slave pilots in Mithril, if not the world. His relationship with Arbalest was unique, and their skill with the Lambda Driver grew with each battle.

Wiping away a tear, she frowned. It was claustrophobic, sitting there. The van had no side windows, and the rear windows had been painted over. There was no way that she was just going to sit there, staring a bunch of mercenaries in the dark.

Making her way to the front of the van, Kaname kneeled on the rubberized floor, just between the driver and passenger seat. She wished that she could ride up there, but had been told that she needed to be kept from view. In addition, the soldier in the passenger seat was a trained observer, and was ready to bring his weapons into play at a moment’s notice.

“Are we there yet?” Kaname asked, trying to regain her usual spunk.

The driver chuckled. “Geez! Kids these days.” With one hand on the wheel, he reached into his pocket and took out a pack of gum. He handed it back to Kaname, telling her to take a piece, and then pass it amongst his fellow soldiers. “Remember to brush your teeth when you get home.”

Kaname actually smiled. These were good men for the most part, and they would give up their lives trying to protect her. It made her feel good, seeing that some were trying to keep her spirit up as well.

“It must have been pretty tight in there for a while, huh Miss Chidori?” The middle-aged Sergeant in the passenger seat spoke without taking his eyes off of the road. “But you and the boy Sergeant have been through that kind of shit before, ain’t you?”

“And worse things at your school, right?” One of the soldiers in the rear obviously had access to intelligence on Sousuke and Kaname. “That whole bit with the Full Monty Virus was a hoot!”

Kaname scowled, but then smiled shyly. Coaxed by the soldiers, she went on to describe some of the escapades that she and Sousuke had been through. Her description of the Bonta-Kun A.S. had everyone laughing uproarishly. The situation with the janitor, the carp, and Tsubaki Issei also tickled their fancy. One soldier swallowed his gum, laughing so hard when he heard how clueless Sousuke had been during the Girl Hunt.

Before she knew it, the Whispered girl found herself bonding with that group of roughnecked veterans. The fact that they all thought so highly of Sousuke somehow made her feel proud.

“Hey, Miss Chidori, feel like singing some drinking songs with us?” The Corporal held up a shiny metal hip flask.

Kaname turned up her nose, which had everybody chuckling.

“Come on! It will put hair on your chest!” One of the other soldiers slapped hand with his nearest buddy.

“Hmmmpppfff!” Kaname fluffed her hair, ignoring the soldiers.

“”That better not be alcohol,” the one Sergeant said in a gruff voice. “Not on a mission.”

“Lighten up, Sarge.” The Corporal unscrewed the top and took a long pull. Wiping his mouth, he winked at Kaname. “It’s my ulcer medicine.”

It wasn’t a quiet ride home, that much was certain. The Mithril troops made it a point to tease Kaname, but they did do in a light-hearted way. The time seemed to fly by, and before she knew it the driver told her that they were only a few minutes away from the safe house.

When the van rolled to a stop, the soldiers dismounted in orderly fashion, moving to make certain that the immediate area was safe. It didn’t pay to take chances. After they had made certain that everything was copasetic, and had exchanged proper passwords with the personnel at the door, they waved Kaname in.

“Kaaa…naaaa…mayyyy…”

Ayame came running down the hallway, slamming into her big sister. “Kaname, we were so worried about you!”

Moving much more sedately, Shunya walked over to his eldest daughter, a look of relief on his face. He looked slightly disheveled, a rarity for him. His facial features were drawn, and his voice was hoarse. “Kaname. We were so glad to hear that you had been rescued. The terrorist experts at the U.N., they…”

Kaname’s father had called people at his place of work, wanting to hear what they thought about the situation he faced, Not mentioning Mithril by name, he gave the security personnel a more detailed description of the airport attack than was available over the news channels or early official briefings.

They had not been very sanguine. Bluntly, they gave little chance of Kaname’s safe return.

“I’m OK, Daddy. It was scary, but I’ve been through this kind of thing before.” The sound of Kaname’s voice clearly said that she was not getting used to it. Each time was a fresh disaster. “If…” She was interrupted.

“But Kaname… what about Sousuke?” Ayame pulled at her sister’s sleeve, frowning when she slid her hand over some of the food that still clung to the clothing. “Where’s Sousuke? The people have been very polite, but they didn’t tell us anything.”

“Except that Kaname was safe,” Shunya said in a stern voice, almost sounding as if that had been all that mattered. “That was all that we really needed to know.” The van had made a quick stop at a convenience store. The message sent via unsecured payphone was in code, indicating that the girl had been successfully rescued.

Kaname clenched her fists. She took exception to what her father had said, and the way that he had said it. Sousuke had saved her! And her father had the nerve to write him off that way?

“I’m happy to see that you and Ayame are safe, Father.” Kaname gently removed her sister’s hand from her arm. “But that is not all that I need to know.” She marched past her father and headed into the largest room in the house. A number of Mithril agents sat near a communications console, while others spoke quietly over in one corner. “Please, can you…”

Kaname didn’t need to ask her question. The agents could easily guess what was on her mind. One woman put down her headset, and stood to speak with her.

“There were five Venom Arm Slaves in total. One managed to destroy the other troop van. Sgt. Verwilghen escaped in his vehicle. Arbalset was successful in taking down all of its opponents.” The woman hesitated. Her fellow agent spoke to fill the void.

“The ARX-7 took heavy damage, as did Sgt. Sagara.” The man tried to tap a cigarette out of its pack, but was unable to perform that simple act. “He… the Sergeant managed to pilot Arbalest into the water… before he became unconscious.”

Ayame stood next to Kaname, her eyes wide. She looked up at her sister, watching the emotions that played across her face.

“But he’s OK, right? You guys managed to rescue him, didn’t you?” Kaname went stiff. “Didn’t you?”

“The Arm Slave is piloting itself, underwater. Its top priority is to avoid detection and capture. The A.I. is monitoring Sgt. Sagara’s condition, and…” The female agent was cut off.

“SOUSUKE SHOULD BE TOP PRIORITY!”

Kaname’s shout had a number of people jumping. Her father frowned, and then headed over to offer comfort. Ayame put her hand to her mouth, looking over at the Mithril agents, wishing they had better news to pass along.

“Miss Chidori, I assure you….” The male agent was interrupted as well.

“Sousuke rescued me. Sousuke is the only one who can pilot that thing. Sousuke…… Sousuke has to be saved… not…” Kaname began tearing up, her nerves almost entirely shot.

“I’m certain that the boy’s comrades are doing the best that they can, Kaname. This is a very difficult situation for everyone.” Shunya placed his hand on his daughter’s shoulder.

“What do you care, Daddy?” Kaname’s voice snapped like a whip. “You would probably be happy if Sousuke died! That way you don’t have to worry about me caring about him.” She knew she was being somewhat unfair, but the truth remained that her father didn’t care much for her boyfriend. “But don’t you understand… I’d be dead if it wasn’t for him!” She walked away from Shunya, approaching the console.

“Kaname Chidori, you…” Shunya closed his mouth, knowing that his daughter was terribly distraught. He looked over at his youngest child, realizing that Ayame was very worried too.

Kaname picked up a headset laying on the table top. She put it on. “Connect me to the submarine. I want to speak with Tessa or that Kalinin guy.” Kaname gripped the edge of the table wit her hand. “If they’re busy, give me Mao or Weber… if they’re onboard.” She set her shoulders and wiped away her tears.

“I’m sorry, but…” The one agent held up his hands. “That’s against protocol.”

One of the Mithril Sergeants walked over. He was soon accompanied by a number of other soldiers.

“I need to speak with captain Testarossa, or Lt. Commander Kalinin. If they are not available, any member of the SRT will do, preferably Sgt. Major Mao or Sgt. Weber.” The Sergeant winked at Kaname. “Our communications gear is broken. We need yours.” He smiled a fierce smile. “Now.”

“I… but you’re just going to… OK…” The woman agent bit her lip and patched through a call to Da Daanan, routing through Merida Base. “Here…” She handed the headset to the soldier.

“Miss Chidori,” the man said, handing the headset to her. “I really do need to report in at some point, but you can go first.” He nodded, a serious look on his face. “We all want to know how Sgt. Sagara is.”

“You got that f-cking right,” one of the other soldiers put in. The other members of the squad put in their own two cents.

“Thank you,” Kaname said, sniffling. For amount, she felt less alone. It was an odd feeling, considering that her father and sister were in the room with her. “I’m glad that somebody knows how important Sousuke is.” She glanced over at her father, suddenly feeling childish and disrespectful doing so.

Noticing the soldiers looking at him, Shunya stiffened up, his face going hard. Not able to meet any of their stares, he looked over at the lights on the console, watching as they flashed in a hypnotic pattern. This was the soldiers’ world, and he was just a guest here. More than that, he owed them and the agents a great deal.

He also owed a certain boy a great deal. That much was obvious. Nevertheless, his feelings could not be washed away by a rescue, no matter how daring and dangerous. In fact, part of him wondered whether his daughter had been kidnapped because of her special abilities, or because she made a perfect pawn.

“I hope the boy is alright,” Shunya said grudgingly. “I owe him my thanks.”

Ayame looked over at her father. “That’s better, Daddy.”

Kaname was busy drumming her fingers on the console top until the connection was complete.

“”Badger-1, we read you,” the communications officer aboard the TDD-1 said, after announcing his own call sign. “You may proceed.”

“This is not Badger-1… it’s Kaname Chidori…” Kaname glared over at a soldier who had said ‘it suits her’. “We all want to know how Sousuke is. Over.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Chidori, but I’m not authorized to give you that information. If…” The officer stopped speaking, as a voice in the background could be heard saying ‘it’s OK, Lieutenant… I’ll talk with her’.

“Hello, Kaname. I’ll tell you everything we know so far.” It was Tessa. “We’re doing everything we can for him.”

“Tessa!” Kaname perked up. “Where’s Sousuke? Is he on the submarine?”

“No,” the young Captain answered. “Arbalest is moving slowly along the ocean floor, monitoring Sgt. Sagara’s vital signs and doing its best to regulate the oxygen supply.” There was a catch in her voice. “We are heading in his direction at top speed. Melissa and Sgt. Weber are on Stand-By, their M9s fitted with undersea propulsion modules. VSTOL aircraft are circling the area, each carrying a frogman able to boost Arbalests air supply if necessary.

“How… how bad is he hurt…” Kaname brought her hand to her mouth. If Tessa sounded worried, things couldn’t be good. “Do you think…”

“All we know is that his vital signs have become unstable. By Arbalest’s report, he had lost a fair amount of blood. There is nothing more we can be certain of at this time.” Tessa’s voice cracked. “I’m sorry. We’re all glad that you’re safe.”

“Thank you. But…” Kaname gripped the headset fiercely with one hand. “Why did that big jerk stay in inside that thing? Why didn’t he get out and send it on its way. Someone could be helping him by now!” Kaname began to tremble. “It’s really stupid, you know…”

Kaname spoke with her fellow Whispered for a brief while longer, reporting some of the things that she had learned at the warehouse. Finished, she slumped over. After the Sergeant gently took the headset from her, the blue-haired girl went to sit down on a couch for a while, face buried in her hands. Her sister sat on one side of her, while her father stood nearby.

When operatives in the Intelligence Division called in an all-clear signal, the civilians were free to go on their way. Wraith would keep up his surveillance duties, and a number of the soldiers would stay with the Chidoris for as long as they wished.

In Shunya’s mind, they wouldn’t need protection for very long. “We have a flight scheduled out of Haneda International Airport tomorrow morning. They usually handle domestic traffic, but since Narita is currently shut down, Japan Airlines has re-routed some aircraft out of the country.”

Kaname looked up, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

“Father?” She blew her nose on a tissue that Ayame offered her. “Sousuke’s still out there, hurt. We don’t even know if he’ll be OK.”

“I understand that, Kaname. He did his duty as a soldier, and we should be very grateful for that. I know how much you care for the boy…” Shunya stopped to cough. “I know how much Sousuke means to you, but we went over that before. The decision had been made.” He knew that it would be hard to get Kaname to see the logic of the situation. “There’s nothing we can do for anyone here. I’m certain that they will let us know about the boy when they have something more definite.”

“No,” Kaname shook her head.

“What do you mean, ‘no’?” Kaname’s father tightened his jaw. His eyes narrowed.

“I’m not getting on any plane tomorrow, or before I hear how Sousuke is.” She looked up, a determined look on her face. “If he…” She swallowed hard. “If he dies… I will go back with you and Ayame.” That would be just as well. Tokyo would hold so many memories of Sousuke.

“Young lady, this is not a situation open to bargaining!” Shunya moved his hand in agitation fashion.

“Yes. We agree on that, Father.” The way that Kaname said that made it quite clear that she and her father were not on the same page.

“Just what are you saying, Kaname?” Her father pushed his glasses further up his nose, an angry look on his face.

“If Sousuke’s OK, I want to see him. That means here, or any place that Mithril is willing to fly me.” Kaname put her hands on her hips. “I doubt that you would want him convalescing at your place, right?”

“That’s not the question, young lady!” Shunya’s face was growing red. Ayame looked at her father, and then over at her sister. Given the gravity of the whole situation, she felt no desire for horseplay.

“When Sousuke is well enough to return to school, I want him to do that. He deserves a chance to be with people his own age. He was making real improvements.” Kaname’s voice was rather forceful, reminding her father of his deceased wife, when Shizu was in one of her obstinate moods. “I want a chance to go to school where I choose. I think I deserve that. Terrorists always try to get me to do what they want. Now you are too.”

“What? Don’t you go comparing me to a terrorist, Kaname Chidori!” Shunya began to shake with rage. “The sooner we can get you away from Mithril entirely, the sooner we can stop worrying about things like this!” He pointed a finger at his daughter. “I heard what you told that… Captain. You were being used as bait to get that boy and his machine to come after you.”

“Daddy, it’s not…” Kaname bit her lip. It was too late. She should have been careful how she worded things, or asked her father to leave the room because of classified information.

“KANAME!”

Shunya’s shout had a number of people looking in his direction. They had little question of where Kaname must have gotten her temper from. Some apples fall pretty close to the tree.

“Kaname,” Shunya tried again, with less heat this time. “I’m worried about you. Ayame and I already lost your mother. We don’t want to lose you too.” His face softened. “I don’t want to have to sit through something like this again.”

“I know, Daddy.” Kaname sighed. “But there’s no guarantee that you won’t have to, no matter where I go to school. Someone could kidnap me from any country, if they really wanted to.” She looked over at her sister. “If I lived in America again… and spent time around Ayame… she might be put in danger.”

Kaname didn’t verbalize her next thought. With all her heart, she hoped that her sister wasn’t Whispered like she was.

“There are excellent hospitals in New York. Maybe…… maybe if we found the right surgeon… it might be possible to make certain that you’re not useful to anyone anymore…” Shunya was willing to pay whatever it took, if there was someway to reverse his daughter’s state.

Kaname stood up and excused herself. She needed to use the restroom. Alone in the small room, she placed her forehead against the cool tiled wall next to the toilet. She closed her eyes.

It was going to be a very difficult evening.