DISCLAIMER: I don't own Elfen Lied or any of the major characters involved. I do, however, own a pair of PVC figures of Lucy and Nana that are rarer than a Stern John goal.
Holy jumping shit-balls, it's been almost a YEAR since chapter twenty came out! As much as it might work to leave the story hanging on a thread like it has, there are more than one angles that need exploring, and I'll carry on soon enough.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Without moving her eyes Nana counted every single object in her field of vision- the rear of one of the seats, the glove compartment, the police radio hanging loose, having ceased its bounce a while back. Empty of tears for the meantime her mind undertook two tasks to escape the sickening feeling that serpent Briarecht bestowed on her in a single sentence: playing My Little Eye with abnormal detail, and – assuming he was telling the truth, god forbid – following Bando's lead in guessing any possible extenuating circumstance. Judging her reaction to Marvin's rescue in the hotel room she certainly saw that Bando's assumptions had credence… in Angela's innate temper. A temper Nana was resigned to accepting that she shared, and it took under a second to realise that the correlation was in the mail- the good-natured but tumultuous times she shared with him both in public and in private unconsciously raised her expectations of life in general, giving her the belief that she could take on any-and-everything she liked doing without limit, without compromise. It all seemed to happen at once and maintain itself effortlessly, and with equal improbability and force things suddenly began to fall away over the last few weeks.
"My health", which was beginning to wane with both a lack of proper sleep and a growing need to draw breath from innocuous-looking sticks of herb…
"My education", which Mayu played a large role in fighting to maintain in spite of growing evidence that their peers and lecturers were suspecting that something was wrong…
"My job?" Where everything seemed to bind together like magic until today, then took several changes of creative direction both in and out of her control?
"My relationship?" With the first man she shared a physical, intense love with; the man she nearly throttled a hundred seconds ago?
"My freedom?" That the only father she knew nearly died to protect? Who she knew - in her heart of hearts- was dead up to last year?
"If not those by themselves, what else?... my friends? My life? What else could I lose today, because of a woman I'm compelled to free from a fate I suffered for six years? …and for what?"
Stricken with this lingering fear she blinked and decided to let her gaze trail in no particular direction before feeling a futile but very welcome kiss linger on her forehead. Begging her soul to let her fight the sorrow and take comfort but to no avail she moved her head to face the man who suffered the brunt of her indignation, and she saw a face as deeply sad as her own, just above a raw neck of her own doing.
"She did it, didn't she?" Nana finally gave in to her dread under her breath, lips quavering.
"Even if she didn't, we can rule out public sympathy" Bando echoed her tone. "This may be out of our hands entirely. We could be facing time inside for this, and that's even if no-one else gets involved. Not to mention every kid still on the island will live or die on the word of the next monkey to take over that place."
That particular uncertainty scared Nana slightly more than her own predicament for a brief moment. Measuring herself for a response a familiar ring uttered from inside Nana's worn pants. Fishing out her cellphone and seeing Mayu's number on the ID she attempted to shelve her melancholy for something far more urgent.
"Mayu?"
"It's Lucy."
"Where are you?"
"We're still in the hotel. We just got some real bad news regarding Angela."
"I already know. The police stopped us halfway to the City. They maybe onto the hotel as well, can everybody walk?"
"Konig's gone ahead to check out the Inn, Kohta and Mayu should be alright but Kurama's back isn't healed up yet!"
"J…Just get everyone out of there… just think of something, please!"
The emphasis whistled in Lucy's ear louder than a scream. "What happened to you? Are you OK?"
"No, I'm pretty freaking far from OK. Just… sort it out!"
"Nana! Nana, listen. You couldn't have known, you just couldn't. I can tell this is important to you, but you have to…"
"I have to go, they're coming to talk to me."
Returning her attention momentarily to Bando she began to sniffle again, wiping her nose on her shirt-sleeve and sinking back onto her seat. Overhearing some 'regular' human chatter she looked out of the right-hand window towards the road, and saw Briarecht entering into an animated argument with a slim gentleman in expensive governmental clothing; an argument Albert appeared to be on the losing end of as his face grew increasingly redder while his opponent merely looked in Nana's direction but without addressing the car. On seeing him beckon two officers forward to place Briarecht in handcuffs and secure him on the floor. The smallest snort of satisfaction followed before she loudly exhaled and began to speak.
"I… I… I went a little nuts there, and I… I'm sorry for that" she stammered. "B…b…but I've got a bead on the sit…situation. Mar… Marvin's there and he… he'll make sure that… oh god…" Nana put her face into her hands, immediately dispelling the lie.
"I don't know… I JUST DON'T KNOW!" she screeched before her words melted into more sobs. Once again every lesson she'd patiently taught herself about maintaining composure failed.
"Will he have to kill her?" Nana's anxiety began to peak while Bando smoothed her hair down in vain to placate her as she continued, shaking- "What if she kills him? What if she gets scared and runs? She… she can't know that we know, right? What reason's she got not to trust us?"
"What reason, indeed?" the officious gentleman asked through the closed rear door before climbing into the front. Yutaka Mishima lazily turned towards the couple, looking them both in the face with a keen but relaxed focus. For a few moments he eyed up both the frightened woman and her companion equally, deducing that they were anxiously waiting for him to make his play, unwilling to do anything to make the situation any worse. Reaching inside his long coat with a latex-gloved hand Mishima produced a baggie containing a cassette tape, and on recognising it Nana gulped to affirm that he meant business. Inserting the tape into the cruiser's player he pressed the Play button, and Bando was introduced to a strategically-cued portion of the last prolonged conversation of Iori Kakuzawa's life:
"That figures. What I'm trying to say is that now you believe you're a member of civilised society you should be considering your fellow citizens' best interests above yours from time to time."
"… Okay, you got me. This changes nothing between us, though. Oh, and I'm under no illusion that you're doing this out of sheer goodwill, You want something out of this, right?"
"Someone. You know who."
Mishima cut the tape. Nana's war-face returned immediately as he beckoned her to calm down before addressing Bando-
"Around four minutes after this conversation finished Iori Kakuzawa was murdered. We have evidence that rules you both out of this, so this doesn't interest us on an official level. What does interest us, as it should you, is the way that little snippet by itself refers to an unidentified person. Miss Sevens here knows the proper context as do I" – Mishima turned to face Nana with exaggerated hand gestures. "What you should be paying attention to is the notion of the truth being far scarier to the general public than any lie I could come up with over a mug of coffee. This tape doesn't clarify your knowledge of Hayes' motivation or disposition, but it does clarify your knowledge of someone whose motivation and disposition could be much more sinister. The billion-yen question being, naturally, if this mythical Vector Virus is a deadlier weapon in the wrong hands, Miss Hayes, or in the right hands… say it."
"Lucy." Nana hit the spot.
"There you go. But that can be another issue for another day going on what you claimed to the victim. Two minutes ago we would have sped you into town and held you in the station overnight alongside several scared ne'er-do-wells, before throwing pointed questions at you for ten hours before showing you exactly what I've just done and guaranteeing you the price of failure of cooperation. We haven't done that because right know the government of Japan has seen both the evidence and public opinion, and for some reason considers you to be an asset."
"The government of Japan?" Bando asked, puzzled.
"Out here in this craphouse I am the government of Japan."
Ejecting the cassette tape he looked Nana straight into her eyes, now void of fear. She took him seriously and he knew it.
"If Hayes leaves town, you're going down. If she kills anyone above pond-life, you're going down. If you assist her in any way, you're going down. If she stirs up any shit to compromise public safety, you're going down. If Lucy shows up and starts shit, you're going down. If you start any shit, you're going down… oh, and if you even touch a goddamn radio microphone in the next two weeks, you are going down. Do you understand everything I've just said?"
"You make it sound as if I'm ready to accept your offer" Nana responded, cold as ice. "Why shouldn't I take a well-deserved break and let you government primates fight this out over whichever puppet you place in charge of Taurus?"
"No reason at all, Miss Sevens…" Mishima started, before producing a thin cigarette and lighting it with an expensive lighter. "Other than a guaranteed mail-shot of everybody Hayes and Lucy massacre between them, graphic pictures and mournful obituaries, A4 in full colour, tongue-licked and hand-delivered to you in your cell every morning. Not what most lags would consider pornography, but whatever wets your whistle…"
Mishima pointed the cigarette in the direction of her teeth in a possible attempt to stop them from bearing on his face.
"Take a few drags and think it over. I can spot an addict better than you can spot one of your own." He uttered before it flew out of his hands into Nana's waiting mouth, the temptation too great. Screwing her eyeballs shut, she hoovered the toxins into her lungs, letting her head thud on her seat's upholstery before expelling a plume of smoke along with a muted, helplessly honest wheeze of satisfaction. The demon won.
"Do we have a deal?" Mishima asked with confidence.
---
Lucy swiftly helped Kensuke to his feet and retrieved his crutches from behind the sofa while he put his wrecked clothes back on with minimal struggle, before taking the sticks and moving for a brief spell much more comfortably than with the lamp earlier. Still concerned, she addressed him:
"I really don't think you should walk. I can't guarantee we won't need to bolt for it if they find us, and you're the first person they'll nail if they get a chance."
"Never mind me, I'll cope. Don't even think of arguing, I need to clear my head" Kensuke barked at her before taking a deep breath. "Kohta, have you started the noodles yet?"
"Not yet, and the potatoes have only been on for moments." He replied from the kitchen.
"Great, put everything in the oven and shut it all off. We need to seal this place up so no smells escape, and leave parallel to the road so that we can move past roadblocks… Lucy, if you can communicate with Doug and tell him to stay put it would be fantastic… wait a second!"
"What?" Lucy asked.
"Didn't we have someone else with us? We've had up to nine people here tonight and I could've sworn only five left… shit! The girl!"
"Mayu!!" Kohta shouted. She was nowhere to be seen inside the apartment, and nobody had paid much attention after settling down when most of the gang left for the car-switch. Frightened he dashed through the living-room and the passage out to the front of the hotel, his gaze darting side-to-side a few times without finding her in the darkness. He did find what appeared to be headlights in the distance growing slowly from pin-pricks- too slowly to be anyone passing through and far too soon to be anyone friendly. Momentarily torn between a mad dash in any direction to find Mayu and a mad dash back inside Kohta bit his lip in panic. Before he could opt for either course he found himself yanked hard back inside by his shoulders, landing flat on his back inside the passage. Moments after he hit the ground he heard the front door slam shut and not another sound. After cursing to himself he turned around to see Lucy looking at him, pale.
"Doug's on his way back. He said there's a patrol car headed towards us!"
"It's already here!" Kohta whispered sharply. "What now?"
From the opposite end of the courtyard the policeman's vehicle made a slow, near-mute approach towards the hotel's forecourt; the car gliding almost effortlessly onto the rough cement with barely a knock audible over the engine chugging well under the officer's radio volume. After killing the ignition the patrolman calmly left the vehicle with a gun in one hand, leaving the door ajar momentarily to reach for the radio's microphone whilst glancing around the surroundings, stifling a thin yawn. He spoke into the radio merely to confirm the site's apparent derelict state and asking if they were sure this was the place the fugitive's conspirators used as a base. Without an assured answer he grunted, closed the door and stepped forward to inspect further.
Kurama and Lucy peered at him from the darkened front window, neither knowing the next move should he get an inkling of their presence. In spite of her pledge against her infamous reputation she knew she could never catch him without ultimately blowing the whole thing; he was certainly beyond two metres and he would definitely get a good look, if not a retaliatory shot. Kurama's look flinched to the right side of the window, along with a slight suck of air.
"Mayu?" Lucy asked urgently under her breath.
"Don't know, something moved in the grass just beyond the car."
The visual flitter in the distance that caught the doctor's eye did nothing to catch the cop's ears as he took a slow stroll along the hotel front near them, another hand reaching his belt to produce a torch. Instinctively the pair ducked under the sill as the midnight sun above moved swiftly across the window, once each way. Kurama was the first to brave the vista again, seeing the agitated man pace right out of view to find a rear entrance.
"Can you disable the car?" He hissed to Lucy.
"He left the keys in there, we might need it."
"There's not enough time for either!" Kohta winced, still prone on the floor. "They're not after Mayu. She's still drunk, and if he spots her he's more likely to lift her into town where she'll be safe."
"She can't go home; the house could still be under watch!" Lucy rebuked him. "And if they run into Angela… damn it, damn it all! Douglas, where the hell..."
Kurama interrupted her with flat palms onto her shoulders, staring into her wild eyes. "He's right. She's in no state to be a threat to a fly, all she has to say is that she started to walk home from a party out in the sticks and passed out. It's going to be okay, just keep calm."
Lucy noticed that his face was the closest it had been to hers yet, eyes locked on to each-other. Far from being reassured from his silent, gentle tone all her eyes could do was leak a sliver of water.
"I.. I… n… ny…"
Somewhat fortunately her mental battle abated with the sound of footsteps coming back from the rear of the block- the officer's search for any rear break-in had been fruitless. As the pair again watched from the window he muttered to his self, irritated at being this far from either a foreign maniac or a fish supper after his shift. Giving up the chase he paced back towards his car, holstering the gun. As he opened the door Lucy's head sunk out behind the window, her face beginning to slump onto the wall underneath… interrupted by an "uh-oh" to her right, thus precluding her relief. She watched as the officer concentrated his look on something off to the left from where he drove in, shining the torch in that vicinity.
"How'd I miss that?" he mused before moving past the vehicle to inspect a pool of vomit beside the driveway. Without being particularly fazed by its constitution he looked at it, cocking his head a mite before jogging back to the car to retrieve his keys. Lucy and Kurama wondered urgently what was going on as the officer moved around to the trunk area, opened it up and shut it after producing a solitary latex glove. Holding a handkerchief to his mouth he prodded the spew momentarily to confirm that it was fairly fresh, before standing up and reaching for the torch with a more urgent spring.
The owner of the vomit was on her feet, about to stagger away.
With little hesitation the officer commanded Mayu to stop in a raised yet non-urgent voice, getting the desired response alongside a muttered cuss word. Without drawing his gunagain he approached her with uniform, cool steps and gently grasped her right wrist, drawing the tiniest resistance. On rounding her the cop raised his torch to her face, betraying her inebriate eyes and the remnants of her sickness while drawing a mildly profane request to turn it off.
"House party, huh?" he enquired, drawing a curt nod. "Where to, exactly?"
"Yamato."
"How old might you be, miss?"
"Seventeen."
"You've just walked two miles from a house party on a Wednesday night, and you can barely stand up?"
Mayu meekly nodded, starting to sob. "I'm celebrating with my cousin, it's his birthday and he gets his exam results in three weeks, I left on my bike to get some more drink, and had a puncture. I know my way back into Kamakura, I know a cheap store near my house…."
"You'd cycle eight miles just for a booze store? What are selling, gas cheaper than the pumps? Get me a quote while you're at it."
She was coming round but still lacked the energy to laugh considering the trouble she knew damn well she was in.
"Now listen, miss, do you have any idea how much danger you're in? Haven't you heard the news right now?" he asked her, causing Mayu to shake her head.
"Some foreigner wanted on a murder rap – I'm talking a diplomatic incident here – is loose heading towards the coast, I heard there was a scene nearer the beach front, is that where you live?"
Again, Mayu shook her head.
"She beat up a local boy pretty damn bad, he's been taken back to hospital in critical condition. She hasn't gone nuts on the public, but we can't rule it out at all. I'm out here looking for her accomplices and I've good reason to believe they're holed up and waiting, you haven't heard anything strange about these parts, have you?"
"Nope."
The cop weighed up his options for a second, hands-on-hips. "No insubordination, no resistance, just a harmless girl bang to rights."
"Okay… I can either take you back to your party – I assume you have at least one responsible adult there – or I can ride you back to the police station in Kamakura, it's far away enough from the hot-spots so you'll be safe. Either way I'll have to charge you for being intoxicated under the legal age and you'll have to report into the station tomorrow accompanied by your parents, anyway. It's your decision."
"I'd…. rather go home. I can call my cuz in the morning."
"Wise decision"
The officer then directed Mayu arm-in-hand towards the rear of the car, opening the door just before she jerked backwards, almost sending him off-balance. Bending over towards the ground he heard her produce a very obvious sign that her sickness wasn't over yet. Belaying any instinct to stop her he placed his palm over his eyes, letting her stomach kick back what alcohol was left. He let his eyes slowly wander around the deserted hotel façade before coming to rest on a window that didn't quite look like the rest of them. A window that appeared to have a bespectacled face staring out of it.
"You there, come out!" the officer commanded loudly, reaching for his holstered weapon.
"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." a cold, female voice uttered yards in front.
NEXT: Looking back… would she have said anything different?