Chapter Five: Memories, Here and Now

"We're converging on the Katsuragi household. This is Ender's game, guys. Let's go." Jing-Kai finished by slapping his fist into his palm, the way a quarterback of a football team would before one accompanied the motion with the command "break." Ender's game was a inside term which said that the plan had no plan, just a directive. Inspired by a favorite book of his, the strategy called for members of the team to split up into five predetermined pairs and act on their own, making the wise decisions that defined them as special operations soldiers. Like a blitz, everyone would have to converge on a single goal, which, in this case, happened to be where Shinji was waking up. Jing-Kai motioned for one of the team's snipers, the lean Swiss man named Ian White to head out the balcony and scramble up a floor from outside in the rain. Ian's only reply was to skitter towards the sliding doors, followed by Joseph, who had his gun in one hand held up near his cheek and his other outstretched, as if to scan the area ahead of him. Before they made it to the doors, Jing-Kai pointed his hand at Lukas and motioned downward by pointing towards the floor in a stab-like fashion. Then came Covington and Reilly, who would bust out the door and head immediately left, while Jing-Kai and the Frenchman Bart de Pontieu would be heading around the right. The last two men would provide cover fire.
   Jing-Kai looked outside towards the balcony just in time to see Lukas lower himself off the side of the balcony railings. That confirmed, Major Won Jing-Kai moved quickly in a military stance -- head and neck bent slightly down, weapon out in front, and legs moving in a cross between a fast pace and a slow run. Jing-Kai edged by the right side of the door while Harold Reilly crouched by the left. He nodded, and Jing-Kai, worried that the last NERV agent had already died within the ten to twenty seconds it took to set up this impromptu operation, decided to drop any stealth cautions and said quite clearly, "Do it."
   The door slid open quickly with a clean swishing sound. Luckily, the two guys in black fatigues at the corner of the railing hadn't heard the noise through the pouring rain, and so Kai, with his arms already outstretched in an innovation of the classic Weaver stance, fired. His personal gun, the H&K USP .40, featured a decent payload, and given the split second Jing-Kai could afford to take in order to adjust his aim, his first bullet fired acquired a clean kill, through the temple of the target's skull, from which erupted a cloud of blood that quickly dissipated into the dark. The noise from his round, coupled with the three rounds from Reilly, set this now second game afoot.
   Unfortunately, for Jing-Kai, his first subject crouched in the way of the subject behind him, forcing Jing-Kai to snap off two more rounds only managing to hit something, although he was not sure what through the dark rain, before the target dove around the railing's corner.
   "Hai you ren! Ren lai le!" warned the injured enemy. Of course, the other members of the enemy team had heard the gunshots and had already figured out that there were still more adversaries to face.
   "Scott," Jing-Kai called without taking his eyes off the corner where his remaining target hid. "Cover for Harold; my guy isn't down." Covington acknowledged by moving around and training his weapon towards where Jing-Kai had his pointed. "Let's go, Bart." Quickly rounding around the doorway, he sidestepped towards the other side of the walkway against the concrete railing, which was mercifully tall enough to allow Jing-Kai and his men to relatively walk on two feet as they taversed alongside it. Unfortunately, however, was the fact that it was difficult to run like a hunchback and still grip the butt of a gun in two hands. The major found himself wishing for a submachine gun now, just for its comfort and familiarity.
   Reilly had attained a clean shot to the head, and the body had slumped over -- Jing-Kai saw immediately that the body could be used as a half-assed shield should he find the enemies around the corner overwhelming. As he neared the corner, Jing-Kai rotated his body so that he was facing the wall and shuffling diagonally to keep a straight strut. As his vision began to catch the end of the corner and saw the a piece of the walkway perpendicular to the one he was one, he slowed to a stop, and with one hand outstretched holding his H&K .40, he brought his other arm out from his side and held up three fingers.

   Scott Covington, a soldier since a child, had just successfully picked off the man Jing-Kai wounded. The enemy was not expecting a perched watcher right behind the enemy -- Harold -- coming in, and had decided to get a higher view by peering over the top of the railing just a bit, but too much, and he was cleanly dropped. There was more shouting from the other side, but none from Rainbow's. That was because Rainbow was the ghost coming in, and now the enemy was the victim about to be swept away. As long as Rainbow didn't have to talk, it wouldn't. Seeing the Jing-Kai's countdown, Covington took aim along the railing across the floor, keeping careful track of his leader's movements.

   Harold Reilly, thankful that Scott had taking down the guy around the corner, had by now crept towards the edge of the railing with more confidence. As he knew that the force he was dealing with was substantially well-trained, he considered his options pertaining to how he would get a look to the other side of the floor. He finally decided that, with the distance between one end of the level and the other, he would be able to peek quick enough without the enemy reacting to it in time to send him a love bullet to the brain. After all, he was as good as they came when it came to this field of play, and he doubted that he could pull off such a shot, not when Scott was covering for him. Harold took in a breath and swung his upper torso to his left and almost immediately back to the right behind cover. It was no good -- the night was dark, and the thin lights on the ceiling acted only to obscure and distract his vision. He turned around just in time to see Kai, his hand stretched out, two fingers up. Loosening himself up for some teamwork, he held his nine millimeter pistol close, and waited for the shooting to begin.

   Lukas Metzger knew that Jing-Kai had seen him climbing up the railing from below, when, boosting himself up with the grip he had on the railing, he noticed Jing-Kai freeze in his peering stance, and then extend his arm. It was common sense that Jing-Kai was going to make use of Metzger's position beside and behind the enemy. Lukas, meanwhile, had dropped back down, his body supported by his two hands up above. Hurry up, was all he could think about while he waited for the fire fight to erupt. He couldn't hold on like this for long and still have the energy and will power to swing himself back up, mountain climber or not.

   "One," Jing-Kai breathed to himself. Jing-Kai jerked his arm out and started firing in bursts, just to get the enemy's attention, perhaps to even lure out some of them into the open. Unfortunately, that did not happen, but the goal was achieved. Kai noticed Lukas, taking advantage of the confusion in the midst of battle, the illogic of actuality. Swinging into a one-foot landing, the German had to reorient himself briefly to the rain, the water, and the darkness, and the sensation of ground beneath his feet. He did not have much time, and so ended up diving unto the enemy, who had barely begun to register that someone had gotten the drop on him... And because Lukas never got the stability to take aim with his gun, the .357 Desert Eagle sat snugly in the small of the soldier's back as Lukas, his hands clasped together tightly, swung and shattered the enemy's goggles -- which, he saw, were not of the NV (night vision) caliber. Wise, since there were enough lights to distort their utility -- another sign that the enemy had knew about this complex too well. However, before he could take the liesure time to laugh in retrospect at how idiotic it was to house an international superkid in the middle of nowhere, Lukas picked up the modified MP-10 submachine gun from the fallen enemy's hands, and, with a fought down sense of glee in his belly, took aim at the remaining soldiers at the other end of the walkway, their backs still turned the wrong way.

   Joseph, on the other hand, was alone and though there was a sense of fear within him, the adrenaline rush, the environment of guns, explosions, and death, and sheer anticipation overwhelmed itom the phone still betwen Misato's ear and shoulder through the firefight erupting outside. Now, if only that weapon in the intruding woman's hands wasn't so threatening, Shinji might have believed he was dreaming. Behind who Shinji still could not believe was Rei -- just a woman's voice and red eyes, Asuka held her gun in one hand in a loose grip, almost casually pointing it at the back of the fatigue-draped figure. She advanced towards him, and Misato's arm found its way around his chest in a nearly frightened grip.. Joseph had decided to go straight for his clients in Misato's apartment, and so, while traversing the level above where most of the action took place, looked for an open door -- the one to his room. Finding it, he and Ian entered his room and Joseph led the way to the balcony. From there, Joseph knew that the Katsuragi residence was but two windows and a floor away, and he began monkeying his way along. Ian White, however, caught a glimpse of something else and went off alone.
   So Major Joseph Yang reached the balcony above Katsuragi's, and dropped down without bothering to think of a way to get some recon on the positions of the enemy inside. He landed on the wet railing and nearly fell off the edge, and decided that now was the time to calm down and be more cautious. But upon looking inside, his heart leapt at the site of two fallen enemies in night fatigues. Perhaps the ladies took care of themselves just fine in here. He considered knocking on the door, but decided that the complicated situation would take too long to open that door for him, and so he shot it once and knocked it open with his arm. What he saw inside was not what he expected.

   "Clear!" shouted Lukas.
   "Clear," Jing-Kai agreed, stopping with a submachine gun from a fallen enemy in his own hands. But there was no time for congratulations. His men had charged out just in time to see the last of the enemy make it into the apartment. It was now about twenty or thirty seconds later. But the enemies had not come out yet. In order to make sure that Team One did not make the same mistake the enemies had by focusing on the door, Jing-Kai pointed at the stairways and made sure everyone but two men whom he instructed to move up one level kept their attention to their backs. One more guy -- Covington, would follow Kai in. Ian and Joseph would probably be already in. They were old friends, and he hoped they were still alive, and then hoped that everyone else inside was okay.
   Scott was already by the doorway, squatting professionally, and probably wondering what his team leader could possibly be thinking about in the midst of a crisis.
   "Go!" Jing-Kai hissed, dropping the half-empty submachine gun and bringing back out his pistol. The door was already blown in, courtesy of the intruders. How many were inside? Nine dropped, and six have been accounted for. So three, then, in a camped area -- just the way Rainbow liked it. Grimly and giddily anticipating engaging in battle on familiar ground, Jing-Kai almost hoped at least one of the enemy was still alive. This charged, he really hoped to rip off a few heads. He knew he should be calm and cool, and that he was more at risk than ever like this, but, well, if given a better choice, Eddie probably would have ordered Kai to stay inside. In fact, the old goat was probably telling him to calm his ass down right now.
   But the door was now a dented and charred sheet of metal, there were wet boot prints on the carpet. No, being calm was the last thing on Kai's mind as he rolled on one arm and then came up in a squatting stance, his aim searching for targets in the dark. He found one, and then he realized it was already dead. Joseph's, perhaps? Kai ran through the living room and peered into the hallway, finding Asuka and Joseph, their aims directed towards one of the enemy's back, but doing nothing other than watching.

General Cheng frowned as he waited for yet another meeting to begin. This time, however, he was to be alone. He frowned because he agreed to this condition, to this meeting, and in doing so, to the fear that his fears were correct. His country was about to fail in its pursuit of everything. In some sense, he had already betrayed his homeland by not having faith in it. He stared at the original note he found, surprisingly, by his door, slipped through the mail slot, an antique more than a practical object with a purpose. It was signed, "the enemy of the real enemy." Already, Cheng had wondered where this discussion would take him, and he had a feeling that it would take him very far, to a place, he may not want to go, but must. In his thought he barely noticed how the heavy rain was loud and acted as a blurred cover to the outside. But it was night, anyway, and Cheng doubted anyone would see him here. Right now, the government's attention was focused on the assault towards the Third Child's apartment. In coming here, Cheng was also doubting that his plan, his people, would succeed as well.
   And so he waited, hiding his anticipation and eagerness by standing against a wall in an alley by the dock. Most likely, his "newfound enemy of his real enemy" would be coming from either Japan, Taiwan, or possibly even the Phillipines. It was too early now to tell. And then they came. There were two. One, an aging and dark man, the other, an aging and worn woman.
   "Nin hao (greetings)," greated the man in Mandarin. "Wo jiao Ikari Gendo. Zhe shi Akagi Ritsuko (I am Gendo Ikari. This is Ritsuko Akagi)."
   "Konbawa (Good evening)," Cheng replied in Japanese. The three grinned slightly in amusement, and Bao Cheng forced himself to listen as openly as he possibly could. He could even hear the rain now.

Shinji found himself a step away from forgetting what was happening around him. He had awakened to the sound of helicopter rotors, then woke up even more when Misato practically dragged him from his room into hers at the end of the short hallway. Her only words were a concise "get up" and the next thing Shinji knew, he was and behind the desk that Misato had kicked over, his head held to the floor by Misato's tense grip. His guardian made no more noise, but held the phone to her shoulder, the shoulder whose arm held a gun across the top of the table. When the firing started, Misato began barking orders to Asuka, who hid in the bathroom along the hallway. And finally, against all the civilians' hopes and wishes, the door was destroyed by explosives. There were but four seconds of silence, and then a shot was fired. It was from Asuka, who then managed a "what?" before Shinji noticed the sun orange light flashing from the hallway. He feared the worst.
   But it was now, with a ghost standing in front of him, that Shinji Ikari froze.
   "You," said the young woman with blood eyes, "come with me. Now." She had strolled straight around the table, her weapon lowered all the way in an almost unthreatening manner. Misato was a hair away from firing, with only her own surprise holding her back. The room almost seemed silent -- Shinji could hear Hyuuga's shouts from the phone clearly through the dark.
   "Forget it, he's not going anywhere," Asuka declared, her grip on her pistol firm now. The intruder turned her head around to stare at the German, but her aim did not shift from its lazy slump towards the floor. Joseph backed up a bit and gave Kai a "what do we do now?" look. Rainbow or not, none of the men here were ever police officers. One -- Ian -- was an FBI agent once, but he was not in the room, which made Jing-Kai wonder for a second where the man was. This is messy, was all Jing-Kai could think. He didn't even bring his gun up at anything.
   The enemy -- who had red eyes, noted Kai -- was not going to debate about her demand. She brought her submachine gun up towards Misato and Shinji, and that did it -- Asuka fired. And fired. And then her M9 9mm pistol ran out of ammo. Meanwhile, everyone in the room had shut and covered their eyes as from the enemy, it seemed, came a bright light, and each bullet seemed to hit steel, as the sound of sheering metal filled the room. Jing-Kai and Joseph shaded their eyes with one arm while they helf their weapons out, but did not fire, afraid they might hit something they didn't want to destroy. Unfortunately, by the time anyone had their vision back, Shinji and the red-eyed demon were gone.
   "Shinji-kun!" Misato screamed, blinking furiously and reaching out with her hand at the same time. When she had enough sight back to determine which direction she was reaching towards -- the direction from which Shinji had been wrested from her arms, she screamed even louder. Two men and one young lady charged into the room, and realized that the window was shattered. Jing-Kai ran to the window sill, nearly leaping out of it, and looked towards the ground for any sign of them. There was none. Then he heard Shinji call for him, from above.
   "What in the hell..." was all Jing-Kai could muster before he broke out of his reverie and began climbing from window to window, desperately trying to claw his way up in order to catch up to Shinji and the figure who was now floating up towards the roof.

Ian had decided to go for the helicopter, which was still parked on the roof. The Swiss man had been on the side of defeat in skirmishes, battles, and small-time wars more often than any member of the team ever had with any other organization, and he personally felt that this battle had a good chance of being lost. It was the feeling of defeat that directed this conclusion, and so Ian decided that if his side wasn't going to win, then everybody ought to lose. And what better way to make sure the enemy lost than depriving them of their only means of transportation out of the place? The pilot never saw it coming, the rotors were too loud -- Kasatka's had a reputation for being high-pitched and whiny. Ian's Desert Eagle point five-oh, however, was louder for a second. Both the side and front mirrors shattered, and just to make sure this lump of metal would never fly again, Ian unloaded the rest of his clip into the flightsticks and controls.
   For just a second, satisfaction and a notion of victory sprung up in his head.
   Then he started hallucinating, for flying up towards the roof was one of the bastards, with the kid in his grip. Ian began to bring his aim up, but then ducked back down to reload his spent cartridge. When he came back up, he saw Jing-Kai, Joseph, Scott, and the two ladies who lived with the boy chasing the flying duo from below. They weren't firing, just running, and running really fast towards the chopper. Scott was in the lead -- the team leader seemed a bit winded for some reason -- and he caught Ian's eye, but made no motion of recognition to him. It was just as well, he would not have had the time.
   Bright and blowing was the light that suddenly filled the place, and those running on foot were suddenly swept off their feet and skidding on the concrete floor. Even the helicopter felt the force of the blow, and tipped on its side uneasily. Scott hit the side door hard, and looked pretty bad -- probably a busted shoulder or rib -- when Ian reoriented himself and looked out the window. But his heart leapt. As the floating figure had focused on doing whatever he did to knock everyone over, Shinji had taken the opportunity to strike at his attacker and sprint towards the door that lead inside. He didn't make it very far. As he reached for the door handle, he was blown towards the doors with enough force so that he crumpled towards the floor, probably unconscious, if not injured.
   Then Ian heard a light clack. It was a flashbang, a very familiar tool, that had landed next to him, and it was from Covington. Ian began to think hard and fast.

Shinji was actually not unconscious. Perhaps he was getting used to being tossed around from his days of piloting a machine against beings which always did this sort of bruising thing. He did, however, have the air knocked out of him, was coughing and on the verge of vomiting. As he was once again grabbed on the arm and pulled -- if this was Ayanami, she was much stronger than she looked, the woman spoke. "Don't make things more difficult for yourself."
   Everyone else had been blown clear away, and wouldn't make it back to him -- and even if they would, what good what it do? Shinji seriously considered resigning himself.
   Something was wrong, evidently. Perhaps it was the fact that there was no pilot in the pilot's seat. Shinji began to wonder to himself: if this woman just shot her own people, will she be getting a lift back, then? Who's on whose side? The young Ikari may not have the knack his father had for thinking clearly in muddled situations, but right now, family genes were proving apparent. Shinji's eyes were open, but he was not paying attention to anything. He was in his own mind, and beginning to think in terms of almost strategy. Almost. The woman threw open the door, and inside lay a man, dead, shot clear through the skull, and there went the Third Child's line of thought.
   In fact, now he could not help but see with perfect vision. The blood, the bullet-filled controls -- evidently, his captor was at as much a loss as he was -- the hand reaching for the passenger sliding door ... and the little rectangular shape that it left behind, what was it called again? Never mind that, Shinji remembered clearly what it did, and shut his eyes, to the best of his ability, and ducked behind the seat as he was shoved inside.

Meanwhile, Ian counted to one, opened the doors, and dove out with as much vigor as he could muster. The chopper flashed brilliantly, and smoke poured out its side. When Ian stood up and looked inside, there were but two unmoving bodies and floating pieces of cotton.
   "Clear," noted Jing-Kai from behind, surveying the inside. "I'd say you earned yourself a pint."
   "I'll buy," consented Major Katsuragi, already reaching in and pulling Shinji towards her, while like a movie, reinforcements finally arrived below.

"We've lost her," an angry tone declared.
   "She has not appeared to us in any shape or form for days," agreed another tone, equally disturbed.
   "Something went very wrong."
   "Worse, NERV -- Fuyutsuki Kozo -- is being wise, and not letting anyone know anything."
   "He will hide his information from us until he is done with it."
   "It will be useless to us, then."
   "What is to be done?" asked a voice with a much more thoughtful tinge to it.
   A moment of silence.
   "How," this was the first time Seele-01 spoke this evening (morning?), "is the EVA series production coming?"
   "Let us find out, and reconvene."
   "Wonderful. Before we needed but a key, now we need a tool." Clear disappointment.
   "And what steps we shall have to take, to make sure your pet project does not end us all, as she did Ikari Gendo?"
   If possible, one could have sensed the grimace behind Seele-01's voice. "She is a perfect tool-"
   "So thought Ikari! And now, he is dead."
   "-and I, unlike our one-time ally, am perfectly willing to lose her and create another, if it comes to that."
   Sighing tone, "It was better when it was simple and clear. It was just a conflict for no one to remember."
   "Yes," agreed the first voice. "Now it's a war."