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MARCH
TO BACHNIA |
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“So let me get this straight....” Fujikuro said after biting a chunk out of a piece of toast. “...first he did a little spinny-kick while upside-down, supporting himself with his only his hand, then put a guy through a table...?” “Yep.” Iria said as she finished the last bit of her meal and stood from her chair. She took her plates and glasses to the sink. She hadn't changed into her armor yet and still wore hire blue and white casual, pajama outfit. “Wow!” Kei said, nearly leaping out of her seat. “He sounds so awesome!” “He sounds like a showoff to me...” Fujikuro said, leaning back in his seat. “You're just jealous, Fujikuro...” Iria said with a chuckle. “When was the last time you did a 'spiny, upside-down kick,” hmmm....?” “I bet he can't even do a handstand!” Kei added. “Please...” Fujikuro scoffed. “Just remember what Bob said. If you guys piss him if off, it's your funeral...” “You're right.” Iria said with a nod and made her way out of the kitchen. “I'm going to go take a shower and get changed. He'll be here soon...” “Don't forget to put on your pretty make-up for the boy!" Fujikuro
called out to her. “You need to look nice “Shut up!” She called back from the other room. “Besides, when was the last time you had a girlfriend...!” After that she slammed the door to her room. “Oooo....low blow....” he said quietly, a bit hurt. Fujikuro then glanced over to Kei who was trying to hold back her laughter. “Who are you laughin’ at!” Just then the sound of the door bell rang through the house, catching both Kei’s and Fujikuro’s attention. A few moments later, Bob's voice spoke over a speaker in the room, “Alright, he's here. I've given him clearance to use the elevator in the living room.” The arrogant Hunter and the young girl looked at each other for a moment...then sprang from their seats and dashed into the living room. They both stood in front of the small elevator awaiting Kazon’s arrival. The elevator let out a soft humming sound as that dark brown hair of his appeared, then the tanned, amber-colored skin, followed by those chilling, green eyes. The elevator came to a stop and the Hunter, donning the usual black trench coat, took a step into the living room, glancing around a bit. The other two were a bit hesitant at first, but Fujikuro stepped up to greet him. “Uh....um, Kazon...right...?” he asked. Kazon glanced to Fujikuro from the corner of his eye before giving him a short nod, then continued to glance around from place to place. “Oh! Um, hiya then...? You can call me Fujikuro,” he then motioned over his shoulder to the young girl, “...and the little brat is Kei...and--” “What!!??” Kei cut him off. “Don't call me brat, jerk!” Fujikuro looked over his shoulder to Kei and flashed a little grin before looking back to Kazon. “See what I mean...?” He added with a slight shrug and extended his hand toward the man. “So anyways, put ‘er there man!” Kazon, ignoring Fujikuro’s greeting, walked right passed him, not even looking twice at the aging Hunter. “This is Hunter Iria’s residence...?” Kazon asked quietly, his arms folding over his chest. Fujikuro’s fist clenched and he gave out a little growl as he was shrugged off, but remained quiet and turned away a bit pouty. “Yeah it is....” Fujikuro said with a slight scow hidden under is words. Kazon stopped and glanced back over his shoulder to Fujikuro, giving him that same icy stare. “...then where is she....?” “She's getting ready....geez!” Fujikuro answered. “Whaddya want me to do?! Go drag her out here half-naked!?” “Fujikuro...!” Kei said under her breath as she pushed the irritated Hunter back, and looked up to Kazon with a nervous smile “Heh heh...umm....sorry, Fujikuro here is just a little trigger-happy is all. Loves to jump the gun, that Fujikuro...!!” she said with an even more nervous chuckle. “Cork it, kid!” Fujikuro said, giving Kei a little shove. “Easy you two...” Bob said as his AI image showed up on the main computer screen, “Welcome Hunter Locke. My name is Bob, formerly of Gounbak Security. I will be acting as your “executive” support throughout this job.” Kazon glanced over to the screen and gave a slight nod. “My apologizes about those two by the way...they can get a bit rowdy at times.” “What’s that supposed to mean?!” Kei asked a bit agitated. “Whatever...” Kazon cut in, his voice a bit on the low side and seemed a bit uninterested. He made his way further into the room and made it over to the computer keyboard, facing Bob's image. “Well then...'Mr. Bob'...I take it that, as our support, you've come up with the plan?” “Please, just 'Bob' is fine.” Kazon nodded respectfully. “ ‘Kaz’...” “Yes, indeed. Well, ‘Kaz’, I have figured out a plan for our approach on the Bachnia Center after hacking online blueprints and I have discussed it with the others thoroughly last night. What we have determined is that Iria, Kei, and yourself with take our Kreeper, leaving Fujikuro to ride in his Dempadan. Keep in mind that once we get to the sensor point, the Kreeper will not be able to pass through without being detected then.” “How will we be able to get past them...?” Kazon asked in his low voice. "Upon arrival, Fujikuro serve as a diversion by flying through
the sensor's barrier. While the center officials are fooling around
and trying to catch Fujikuro, you, along with Iria, will infiltrate
the building through the air ducts on the East Wing. Kei will remain
outside of the sensor area with the Kreeper and serve as a lookout until
Fujikuro can escape, and she will radio you if any reinforcements arrive.
Once you two inside, “Sounds more like suicide to me...” Fujikuro added. “...only from your standpoint.” Kei responded with a grin. A small disk was ejected from one of the disk drives on the super computer. “Here, take this.” Bob went on. “It's programed to project my AI image and keep you in contact with me and also with Iria in case if you get separated.” Kazon nodded again as he pulled up the sleeve of his trench coat, revealing the silver-metallic armor the covered his left forearm. Kei looked around from behind Kazon to get a better view of what the silent Hunter was doing. She watched in amazement as Kazon slid the disc into an elevated plate on the armor. Bob's AI image left the computer screen and then the sphere and two cone holographic image popped up from the enteral projection unit that was consulted in the elevated plate, similar to Iria’s device. “...it works, good.” Bob said as he cones twirled around a little bit. “Now...I'm going to shut down for a few minutes so I can further survey the Bachnia Center's computer systems. If you have any questions we'll go over them on the way there. When Iria's done preparing and you're all ready, notify me and we'll be on our way.” After Bob switched off, the three stayed quiet for the next few minutes, waiting for Iria. Kei propped herself against the opening of the elevator while Fujikuro was sitting on the couch, his elbows on his knees with his chin resting in his palms. He kept a very close eye on Kazon, who was leaning back against the super computer console with his arms casually folded over his chest. Kazon’s eyes were closed and his head hung a tad bit low. “Man! What's taking her long!” Kei finally said to break the silence. She looked over to Kazon and once again, he caught her curiosity. She slowly walked over to him, tiptoeing it all the way as to not alert him. He stood a few feet away from him and looked over his features. She peeked into get a closer look into the dark man's face... “Whoa...” She thought. “Iria wasn't kidding....he’s like a statue...” Kei moved in to get an even closer look, but only to see Kazon’s eyes shoot open, sending the startled Kei stumbling backwards and falling on her backside in a heap. She looked back up to Kazon, who still had had that blank look his on his face has he lowered his head even more. Kei’s brow arched slightly. “What's with this guy...?” Just then, Iria rushed into the room, her crimson cloak and rifle under one arm and small pouch full of extra ammo magazines hanging from her mouth while still trying to fix her armor on her opposite forearm. “O-k...!” She said, talking through her closed teeth. “I’muf r’eddy..!” Fujikuro waved her off nonchalantly. “Sure doesn't seem like it...You mean to tell me that through Myce’s deepest perils, who you still have the time to “pretty yourself up”?” Iria yanked the pouch from her mouth. “Oh yeah? Well, you could learn from it you know...” She caught a glance of Kazon leaning against the computer, and flashed a grin. “They didn't bore you did they?” “Not as much as standing around here waiting for you...” Kazon said coldly as his arms uncrossed and pushed his body from the leaning position, but even still, he didn't look up to her. Iria’s eyes narrowed as she placed her hand on her hips. “What's that supposed to mean?!” “...forget it.” Kaz said as he made his way over to the door leading into the garage. “Let’s go...” As Kazon exited the room, Fujikuro looked over to Iria and gave her a little grin. “So much for your love life, eh?” “Shut up!!!” ***** The Kreeper sped across the flat terrain, leaving a trail of dust around it. Above the speeding Kreeper, Fujikuro, serving almost as if he was a wingman, flew his Dempadan as fast as it could. Kei had the controls of the Kreeper, pushing a few buttons here and there. She kept on looking over her shoulder to Kazon every now and then. Every time she glanced back, Kazon remained still and quiet, his arms folded over his chest as he gazed idly out into nothing. Just staring... “Maybe he's just psyching himself up...?” Kei asked herself, but still wasn't very sure. For some reason, a reason that she didn't even know herself, this man was quite interesting to her. His quiet voice, his cold demeanor, his icy gaze...all of this intrigued the young girl ... intrigued her enough to want to find out more. Whether he would let her, or anyone for that matter, has remained to be seen. Iria was checking her pistol and cleaning the barrel. “Hey Bob, how far out are we now...?” “About 5 miles away from the barrier zone.” Bob said over the Kreeper's sound system. “After that, its about a mile to the building, so you two will have to be quick on your feet...” “Yeah, yeah...” Iria responded as she loaded an ammo clip into the pistol. “We'll do our job, you do yours...” Bob chuckled softly. “Alright...” Fujikuro’s voice was relayed to the Kreeper. “I'm going on ahead. Be careful...ya hear?!" “Yeah, you too...!” Iria said as she looked up and waved the Dempadan forward. “Don't let Iria pester ya too much Locke! She does that sometimes...!!”
then Fujikuro sped off, leaving the “There he goes...” Kei said in a rather dreadful tone of voice. “He'll do fine....he better atleast.” Iria said as she adjusted the armor around one of her wrists. She then gave a quick glance over in Kazon’s direction, then down to his lap where two katanas lay sheathed. “That's strange...” She said aloud, to no one really, but it caught Kazon’s attention. He glanced over to her from the corner of his eye. Iria straightened up a little big and continued on..“You....don’t see many Hunters use those things nowadays...” Kazon gaze shifted down to the swords for a moment, then back to where they previously were, staring out into the distance. “Your point...?” “No point...” Iria said as she looked down to her pistol. “It’s just Hunters lately have leaned more the ‘gun-side’ of things, yanno what I mean? Not many still rely on blades...” She flashed him a sly grin. “...or maybe you're just not all that good of a shot...?” “...my ‘poor marksmanship’ saved you, didn't it?” Kaz responded. Iria chuckled a little. “I'd figure you'd say something like that.” She said, composing herself. “You're a real jerk, you know that?” She smiled proudly... “You're not all that hard to figure out than I though....” Kazon shot an icy glare in her direction and spoke in a low voice. “You have no idea...” Iria gasped a little when this look of his fell on her. His green eyes burned holes through her once again...just like they did the night before. Iria sat frozen just as she did the night before, not knowing what to say, and frankly, couldn't look away from him. Their eyes were just locked on each other for a few moments. Luckily though, Bob's voice broke the tension... “Get ready, we're nearly there. Our diversion is working , all the security forces are pointed at Fujikuro at the moment...” Kazon finally looked away after Bob was finished, Iria letting out a soft sigh of relief. “Has he blown up yet...?” Kei asked with a mischievous grin on her face. “I can still hear you kid!!” Fujikuro’s voice rang over the intercom, with sounds of gunfire in the background. “If I live through this, yours is the first ass I get to kick!” “Kei, park here...” Bob cut in. “This should be close enough...” “Right...” Kei said as she quickly put on the brakes and came to a sliding stop. “Remember,” Bob said again. “Fujikuro can't hold out forever so get to the center with haste. All Fujikuro has to do is hold out until you two can get in. That's were Hunter Locke's covert experience should come in handy...” “Right...” Iria said as she leaped out of the Kreeper with her rifle at hand. She smoothed out her crimson cloak. “We'll contact you once we get in.” Kazon too jumped out and strapped the two katanas over his shoulders and across his chest, the two swords forming an ‘X’ formation across his back. “Be careful you two...” Kei said waving to them. “You'd better get back here in one piece Iria!” Iria looked up to Kei and smiles. “Yeah, I know...” Her gaze then shifted over towards Kazon, who was standing a few feet away, buttoning up his long black trench coat. Kaz looked up to Iria as he fastened the last of the buttons. He tilted his head slightly in the direction of the large building a mile away from them, as if asking her if she was ready but without words. Iria nodded slightly. Kazon nodded and then, using his thumb, he gave a quick yet gentle flick to the hairbeads that were tucked behind his left ear...Gren's trademark. Iria’s eyes widened quickly seeing this...and her mind went completely blank... “...big brother....?” She thought, as both visions of the Gren and Kazon doing the exact same thing...it stunned her. Something as small and as trivial as flicking one's hairbeads, was suddenly the only thing on Iria’s mind. “...Gren...”
“Huh...?” Iria said as she came back to her senses, only to see that Kaz already had a good head start on her. He ran in the direction of the Bachnia Center with the tails of his coat fling behind him. “H-h-hey!!! Wait up!!” Iria then ran after the Hunter, hoping to catch up with him. Everything was in motion now. The plan was now in full swing, with no turning back, and with no room for error. But what's inside this building is still an uncertainty, which appears to be the background of this mission. What is on the inside...is something no one...not even two young Hunters could have ever prepared for...
NEXT TIME!!:
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