The Saoshin building was enormous. Forty stories of polished glass and steel shone in the afternoon sunlight, a modern day giant in size and just as powerful. Who would suspect that such a benign looking structure could be anything but?

Behind his pair of borrowed sunglasses, Omi’s wide eyes narrowed angrily, the absolutely disgusting film he’d seen earlier that day still running through his memory. He suspected that even when they destroyed Saoshin, the film would be forever in syndication within his own mind.

He had been the only one of the four to be violently ill after watching it, after knowing it wasn’t just some good special effects. He had found some comfort from Manx, who had taken him aside after he had stopped retching into the toilet and told him of the nightmare she’d been subjected to the night before. Returning to the group, there had been no ridicule, only shared horror. Even from Aya, who undoubtedly pictured his sister in that poor girl’s place.

Staring up at the deceptively innocuous building, Omi swore he’d see it fall. If he could manage it, he would set the charges himself.

~*~

For the fourth time that afternoon, Yohji expressed his absolute loathing in regards to the division of labor. Two to infiltrate, two to hang back as the emergency reserves. He did *not* want to be one of the idle ones, not if it meant that Omi would take his place.

Beside him on the park bench, Aya’s jaw clenched, molten violet eyes trained on the retreating backs of their two youngest members. To all their astonishment, the redhead had been as vocal as Yohji in his opposition to Ken and Omi being the moles.

// Pulling four sheets of paper from her thin briefcase, Manx passed one to each of them.

"That, gentlemen, is a little known film type called ‘snuff.’ Most law enforcement agencies do not consider it to exist, and it’s been passed off as an urban myth in most countries." She raised a red eyebrow, face twisted by the irony.

"Obviously, that is not the case." As far as we know, Saoshin is the first company to be producing this type of film in Japan. They are sponsored by a company in Thailand, and are getting licensing from an unknown contact in MITI."

"Shit." Yohji gripped the paper in white-knuckled hands. "Even if we get the company, they’ll just bring someone else over."

Manx folded her arms across her chest.

"Which is why, Yohji, this is an infiltration mission. You need that the name of the contact in MITI, because he is your target as well."

"And who is going to do the infiltrating?"

Manx shot Ken a sympathetic look.

"You and Omi."

"No!" Both Yohji and Aya instantly interjected.

"Aya, you stand out like a beacon and would be instantly identified. Plus, you are anti-social." Manx snapped. "And Yohji, by your own admission, you have no skill with electronics."//

Manx’s stinging retort still reverberated, almost drowning out the cries of the victim in the tape. Damn it if she wasn’t right, though. But the makers of those films *killed* people. He didn’t want either Omi or Ken put at that kind of risk. If something happened, he and Aya would never get there in time.

Shit. It was like Riot all over again.

Yohji bit down hard on his fifth cigarette in two hours, tearing through the paper and getting some of the bitter dried leaves and toxic chemicals into his mouth. Gagging, he spit out what he could.

Just like Riot.

Which time, asshole? Whose death hurt more, Asuka’s or Maki’s?

He knew the answer. It was as plain and foul-tasting as the junk from the cigarette that he could not get out of his mouth no matter how hard he tried. Both of them hurt. Asuka’s because he’d loved her so completely, and Maki’s because she had made him relive Asuka’s death all over again.

But how bad would the pain be if he had to see her death through Ken? Or Omi for that matter?

"This fucking bites."

"That’s the fifth time you’ve said that." Aya grit out, not looking at him.

"Well, shit, Aya. Maybe I’ll say it again, just to piss you off."

"Don’t waste your time." The redhead’s voice was level and blank, like usual. But the rest of his body betrayed him. Fists clenched, eyes livid, he sat on the edge of the bench like a predator ready to spring. And in this case, the prey was any danger that dared show itself.

If anything happened to either Omi or Ken, Aya swore he would see Saoshin pay dearly. It had almost startled him, the extent to which he had argued with Manx about the assignments. It was clear his behavior had surprised the others, since he rarely said two words during missions he willingly participated in. He argued so heavily because if someone was hurt, he wanted it to be him and no one else.

Another injury on his conscience because of his impotence was the last thing he wanted. His sister was in a coma because he hadn’t done anything. If he had to lose someone else important to him, there would be nothing left.

He had nothing left to give over to another bittersweet memory.

~*~

"Where are we supposed to go, Omi?" Ken stared at the map in his hand and then glanced at the numbers on the doors they passed. None of them matched the ones on the map, and his head was beginning to ache. "This place is a damn maze. How do they find anything?"

A young voice called out behind them, responding to Ken’s loudly muttered comment.

"If you know the company inside and out, then there’s no problem."

Both boys jumped, startled, and turned around to face a cherubic, raven-haired woman in a sharp suit. She smiled warmly at them.

"You two must be the new applicants."

"H-how could you tell?" Ken rubbed the back of his neck nervously and tried to refrain from loosening his tie. Damn thing was choking him and the black suit was too hot for the humid May weather.

"Unless you were expected, there is no way you would have gotten past the first floor." She said brightly, with a wide smile that lit up her entire face, but which missed touching her eyes in the same manner.

Ken gritted his teeth and laughed hollowly.

"We’re here to see Nakamura-san." Omi interjected, waving a small piece of paper. It was their contract, with all the correct, albeit forged, credentials that Kritiker had provided.

/Systems technician,/ Ken thought warily. /Good lord./ His computer skills were rooted in a rudimentary working comprehension of networks and an unbeaten winning streak in his Typing of the Dead emulation.

Ken had no idea how he was going to pass himself off as a network specialist, considering he was barely knowledgeable in the most basic of systems maintenance. Omi hadn’t had time to teach him anything more than what he knew already. Hacking and information gathering were another matter, however.

After the disastrous mission against Kourin Pharmaceuticals and Takatori Masafumi, it had become clear to Weiß that mission research could not revolve exclusively around Omi’s schedule, and since neither Aya or Yohji had volunteered, the research detail had fallen to Ken, and after all was said and done, he couldn’t exactly complain about having some kind of foothold that made him useful.

As paranoid about the mission as he was, part of him gloated at being the one picked for the tough work as opposed to the muscle detail he was usually stuck with. This time around, he was more important than Yohji, or even Aya. Now he just had to make sure he didn’t get killed before he could rub their noses in it.

"Ah, Nakamura-san’s office is right down that hall." The helpful yet intimidating woman pointed to her left, indicating a shallow, glass-walled skywalk that crossed over the opening in the middle of the building. On the roof of the twentieth floor was a grass-covered courtyard that the executives used for putting practice or just to get some air. Manx had gone over the entire schematic of the building with the four of them, telling all she knew about the company, which had been in business for over a half-century.

Saoshin was a perfectly legitimate cover for the Thai snuff ring, in that it was a television commercial production company. They had only recently begun manufacturing the snuff films, prodded by a large ‘compensation’ payment and generous tax cut offers from MITI. It was sickening to think that a branch of government as powerful as the Ministry of International Trade and Industry was sponsoring the killing of others for fun and profit.

"Doumo arigato, gozaimashita." Omi said politely, bowing nearly ninety-degrees at the waist to the woman. Ken took the cue and followed suit. The woman nodded and disappeared through a door, back to wherever she had come from.

While walking through the skywalk, Omi loosened his tie. "That was the vice president of the company, Ken-kun."

"Shit, you’re serious."

The blonde nodded. "She seemed suspicious, but I have a feeling she’s suspicious of everyone. Nakamura is the one we have to convince."

Ken shuddered. "I don’t know if I can pull this off, Omi. I don’t know half the stuff you do."

"Daijoubu, Ken-kun." Omi laughed lightly before turning gravely serious. "Yohji could handle their network, so don’t worry. You know more than enough to get us through this."

Pausing at the large, imported oak door that towered in front of them, Ken straightened his jacket and smoothed his hair. "I so hope you’re right, Omi." Winking at the younger boy, he knocked on the door. "Because if you’re wrong, we’re gonna end up with the top billing of his next feature."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

e.n.d.p.a.r.t.1.

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Notes:

1. The snuff ring is based in Thailand because from what I could find on snuff films, Bangkok is the most likely place to find them.

2. Snuff films are considered to be an offshoot of pornography by those not in the porn industry, and they're considered by those *in* the porn business to be a concoction created by those who are anti-porn. Most law enforcement have never been able to come up with evidence of snuff films, but we all know that doesn't necessarily mean they don't exist.

3. MITI (Ministry of International Trade and Industry) is an actual ministry in Japan, one of the most powerful government offices. I figured that they would be the ones that Saoshin would have to go through in order to get permission to import and manufacture the films. Not that they really need to, there is the black market, but isn't it always better when you can be protected by the government?

4. Omi can't be the one talking to Nakamura, even though he's more experienced than Ken with computers because Ken's older and Japanese businesses are based on seniority and not merit.

5. The angle of your bow indicates how superior the person you are bowing to is. Since you can't really bow more than 90 degrees without falling over, 90 is the most, um, submissive gesture. Since the woman Omi is bowing to is the VP and he is the younger of the two most junior employees, it is the most respectful thing for him to do.

6. "Gozaimashita" is more polite than "gozaimasu" If you really want to be polite in Japanese, put something in the past tense. [or use honorifics and humble forms, but i hate them so i'm not using them here ^_~]

7. Typing of the Dead is a kickass game!!!!

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Part 2 coming next!! Wai Wai!!