Chapter Text
November 11 grimaced in pain as the knife wielded by BK-201 struck his forearm, crimson blossoming on the white fabric. He could feel the disbelief on his face. BK-201’s actions were…illogical. A low voice snapped him out of his momentary shock. ‘Die,’ rasped the masked figure. November reefed his arm back, seeing the blue glow of synchrotron radiation envelop the Contractor before him. Barely registering the knife ripping from his arm, he prepared to attack. Oh, no you don’t, he thought, summoning his power in anger. The whistle of a projectile sounded, fire erupted before him, and he brought his arms up to shield his face. When he lowered them, the masked figure was gone.
Who are you…BK-201…
The splish-splash of footsteps brought him out of his musings. He turned and met a raised blue eyebrow.
“It’s been a while since I saw you run into trouble.” April smirked at him.
“November…”
Both November and April looked down at July. The boy’s gaze was fixed on the spreading patch of red marring November’s sleeve. November crouched down and met July’s blank eyes. “Just a flesh wound.” He smiled, ruffling the boy’s hair as he stood again. He looked to April. “Well, it seems capturing BK-201 will be a greater challenge than I originally expected.”
“That was a joke…” Misaki stated flatly. She looked over November, taking in the bandaged arm. “You should get out of here. I’ll be in contact if we need anything else from you.” November just nodded, still slightly rattled from the information the police chief had shared with him. So Havoc hadn’t regained her powers…then why was BK-201 leading her away from the Gate? Wasn’t the entire point to take her there so she would regain her power? You certainly are a mystery…BK-201, he thought.
November bid farewell to Misaki and walked over to where his red RX-8 was parked. April and July would be at their shared apartment, having already taken a cab back. Stepping around to the driver’s side door, November stopped dead. He stared incredulously. Someone had keyed his car. He clenched his teeth, feeling the urge to slowly freeze the blood of whoever had committed the act. Ruined suit, ruined mission, and now, ruined car. Letting out a held breath, he sighed. He was tired from the evening’s events. This could wait. The car came to life with a rumble, and the MI6 agent departed, leaving melting ice and unanswered questions behind.
Hei, or rather Li Shengshun, squeezed the sponge as he lifted it from the soapy bucket. His next assignment was obtaining intel on one of the Syndicate’s own investors, suspected of auctioning information off to external parties. The member was known to frequent the car detailing service he was now working for, and the Black Reaper was instructed to plant a bug in the infotainment system of the member’s car. He did not know why a contractor of his skill had been given such a menial task, but he suspected it had something to do with his recent failure with Havoc.
“Oi, you.” Hei looked up from his scrubbing. A short, stout man in grease-covered overalls was calling for his attention. “I need you to do the RX-8 when you are done with that one.”
“The RX-8…” Hei queried, confused.
“The Mazda, you idiot! Don’t you know a thing about cars!” the man exclaimed, placing his hands on his hips.
Hei seethed internally. He figured he didn’t need to know that much in order to clean them. But he pushed that aside and adopted the apologetic, naïve tone of Li, the Chinese exchange student.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Of course.”
He heard the man tsk at him before walking away, muttering to himself.
Hei wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead as he finished polishing the RX-8.
“My, my, haven’t you done a good job.”
Hei turned and met ice-blue eyes. November 11 stood before him in an immaculate white suit, looking appreciatively over the vehicle. Hei carefully schooled his features, feeling anger swell within him as he stood face-to-face with the man who murdered Havoc. After you tortured her and led her to her death, his subconscious whispered.
“Uh, thank you, sir.” Hei inclined his head to the older man.
“You know, I would give you a tip if this country were more accepting of it,” November remarked, winking at Hei.
“Uh…” Hei stuttered, not knowing how to respond to that.
“What’s your name?” Piercing blue eyes locked with his, and Hei felt uncomfortable under the intense gaze.
“It’s Li, Li Shengshun.”
“Well, Li, hopefully I will be able to employ your efforts in the future.” November turned and headed for the front desk.
Hei placed a hand on the vehicle he had just finished polishing, resisting the urge to fry the entire electronics system of the thing with his powers. It would be a shame if the traction control stopped working, and it ended up wrapped around a tree…along with its driver.
November strode towards him once again, and Hei heard the click of the vehicle unlocking. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Shengshun.” November waved goodbye over his shoulder and slid into his vehicle.
Good riddance, Hei thought coldly while watching the red car exit the garage. And good riddance to you too, Hei thought to the grease-covered mechanic as he made his way over to his target. With the bug now planted, ‘Li’ would be finding other employment.
Misaki sat awkwardly in the booth, feeling out of place in her usual blue suit yet knowing she would be infinitely more uncomfortable had she worn anything else. To her left, April threw her head back, finishing the last drop of her drink before slamming the glass down and beckoning to a waiter for another. Misaki stared at the empty glasses on the table, quietly thankful that the Public Security Bureau would be footing the bill. To her right, Jack Simon…or November 11, Misaki thought to herself, lounged comfortably. A small smile tugged at his lips as he rolled a glass in his hand, watching the ice cubes clink together. Ice-blue eyes looked sideways at her. “It’s awfully kind of you to treat us this evening, Chief Kirihara.” November’s smile turned playful.
Misaki grimaced. “The Public Security Bureau always endeavours to make visiting diplomats or visiting agencies feel welcome.” Misaki made sure to put emphasis on ‘agencies,’ giving November a sharp look. “It would seem that recent events delayed this.” She picked up her glass and took a gulp. She wasn’t here by choice.
“Nonetheless, allow me to extend my thanks as the British Foreign Minister.” November raised his glass to her in a mocking fashion before taking a sip. Misaki clenched her teeth together, looking around the bar in an attempt to distract herself from the present company. Her eyes suddenly landed on the lithe figure of a waiter serving drinks to a nearby table. Warm light reflected off dark raven locks, and Misaki tensed in her seat. The waiter turned to walk back to the bar, his midnight blue eyes casting over the room.
“Li?” Misaki exclaimed.
November 11 looked over to the person the Section Four Chief was so suddenly transfixed on and stared.
“Huh… Misaki? You sure look different to last time I saw you,” Hei muttered, scratching the back of his head.
“You sure don’t.” Misaki huffed a laugh. “I would have thought you would be done with waitering for good.”
“Well…”
November took the momentary pause to clear his throat, drawing the police chief’s attention to him.
“Li, this is Jack Simon, the British Foreign Minister. Jack, this is—”
“Li Shengshun, yes, we’ve met.” November smirked and his eyes locked with Hei’s. Hei felt a chill run down his spine at the intensity of November’s eyes. For a brief moment, Hei feared November was referring to their…earlier meeting but knew he was being paranoid. No, the MI6 agent had no reason to suspect his true identity.
Hei was pulled from his thoughts by a boisterous voice.
“And I’m April,” the blue-haired woman practically leered at him. “Now, would you be an absolute doll and bring us some more drinks.” April laughed at her own little in-joke.
“Of course, ma’am.” Hei swore he could feel ice-blue eyes piercing his back as he walked to the bar.
November stared after the departing waiter, thoughtful.
“How do you know Li?” Misaki demanded once the dark-haired man was out of earshot.
November took another slow sip of his drink. “Well, my dear, it would seem that someone decided to partake in some early morning vandalism after the little fiasco with our red-headed friend.” November sighed theatrically. “One would think their possessions safe with the majority of the police department in the area.” Misaki scowled at him, and November chuckled. “Don’t worry, your friend Li ensured my car looked like it had just rolled off the showroom floor.”
“Li was working at a garage?” Misaki said.
“Hmmmm,” April hummed, rapping her nails against the table and staring off into nowhere. “He can wash my car anytime…”
“That would require you having a car, April,” November drawled.
April did not let that deter her. “Perhaps I could borrow yours, Jack…or do you intend on keeping Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome all to yourself?” she purred.
“Finders, keepers,” November sing-songed, causing Misaki to choke on her drink. “Relax, that was a joke. Though I can’t speak for our friend April here.”
Misaki spotted Hei walking back towards them, balancing a tray of drinks, and quickly changed the topic.
“So how long will you be in Japan for?” Misaki asked November while Hei began placing drinks on their table.
“That really depends on a number of factors,” November replied evasively. He turned his attention to the younger man now removing the empty glasses. “So, Li, why aren’t you working at the garage anymore?”
“Oh…well, I had one of my classes clash with their work hours, so I had to leave. Luckily, I found this job pretty quick.”
“Are you here studying?” November inquired.
“Yes.”
Hei had hoped that his single word response would be enough to get the Brit to stop asking questions. Hei was wrong. An influx of questions suddenly fired his way. Where was he from? How long was he staying? Which university was he attending? Hei was glad that the Syndicate had issued him with a complete backstory and false documents upon his arrival in Japan. While Hei was an expert liar and actor, he knew that the man before him had access to a multitude of information and could, and possibly would, verify his story.
“What are you studying?”
“Ah, I really just came here to study to improve my Japanese.”
“Really? Your Japanese is as good as my Chinese. What are you studying?” November replied in fluent, unaccented Mandarin.
Hei almost dropped the tray he was holding in shock.
“Astronomy,” Hei replied. He had had to think fast. He was just sure that the nosy Brit would quiz him about his area of study, and he couldn’t afford to be absolutely unschooled on the subject. At best, the so-called Foreign Minister would think him a lazy student. At worst, the other contractor would become suspicious, which could prove very, very bad for Hei. No, best pick the one subject outside espionage, assassination, and martial arts, he had decent knowledge about.
Hei gave November a sheepish smile. “Please excuse me, but I had better get back to work. If my manager sees me chatting to customers, I might be looking for another job again.”
“Of course. We were about to leave anyway.”
“Speak for yourself.” November heard April grumble.
November stood and moved into Hei’s personal space. “It was a pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Shengshun.” Hei was about to respond when he felt a large hand brush over his upper thigh and froze. November leaned in, and Hei could feel his breath on his ear. Heat rose on his face. “For your efforts,” November whispered, then turned to Misaki, who wore a stunned expression. “Thank you for a splendid evening, Chief Kirihara. If April wishes to continue to drink herself into oblivion, rest assured that the ministry will foot the bill.”
Straightening his jacket, November cracked one last smile at the lost-for-words waiter and strode out of the bar.
Hei regained his composure and bade good evening to Misaki and April, explaining that his shift would be finishing soon. As he walked behind the bar, he felt something rustle in the front pocket of his trousers. Confused, he felt in his pocket and pulled out a 5,000 yen note. He stared at it dumbfounded. He hadn’t even noticed November putting it in his pocket. Hastily, Hei deposited the note in the till.
He doubted the manager would be unhappy about an additional 5,000 yen.