Tokyo Tower

"What we already know about you is that you have met Mizunashi twice during the past week, using the name Samure Misa. But I bet that's not your real name..." Vermouth started.
"It's not-" Sera bit her lip.
"Tell me... what's your real name then..." The woman said softly.
"..." Sera her lip even harder until it started bleeding.
"There is nothing to be afraid of. Just tell it. Only one name."
"Se-ra..." Her whole body shook as she fought against the truth serum. "Masu-mi..."
"Good girl... it wasn't that hard, was it?"

Suddenly a ring tone filled the whole room. Sera recognized it as her own. Vermouth took the girl's cell from her own pocket and checked who was calling.
"Oh... I guess this is one of your school mates. I'll let you talk with her... But remember... If you say anything funny we'll track her down and-"
"You'll kill her, right?"
"Correct." Vermouth pressed the green button of the phone and placed it next to Sera's ear.

"Sera-chan?" Ran voice asked from the phone.
"Hi, Ran-chan... How are you?"
"Fine thanks...And you?"
"Fine I guess..." Sera said but added in her mind: At least mentally...
"I just wanted check if you are alright. You have seemed to be down for the past two weeks."
"No... Everything is fine. I'm just worried can I stay calm and focused that I'm not 10 hours late from tomorrow's meeting..."
"Eh, what do you mean?"
"Well, I have to go now. I'll call back when it's better moment."
"Okay then... Bye!"
"Bye..."

Vermouth hung up the call. "What was that?"
"What?"
"You lied to her."
"I didn't... I just told things that are true... from one point of view."

-- -- --
Ran stared at her phone for a moment. What Sera had meant with that sentence? She dialed another number.
"Shinichi... Has something happened to Sera-chan?"

Shinichi hesitated, and then replied, "She's fine. She just got called out of town on some detective business."

"She didn't sound fine; she said she was worried that she won't stay calm and focused that she won't be 10 hours late from tomorrow's meeting. What does that mean, Shinichi?" Ran asked.

The detective boy gritted his teeth. She was sending him a message. "We were going to discuss some details about a case tomorrow, and she was telling me that she might be late," he lied. "Did she say anything else?"

"No, she said that she'd call me back when it was a better time and hung up."

"Talk to you later." Flipping the phone shut on Ran's protests, Shinichi relayed the information to the FBI agents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The ride to the B.O. headquarters was quiet. No matter what Rena said, her escort remained quiet. When they finally parked in the underground parking lot, she saw several B.O. agents waiting. "What is going on?" she asked, rolling down the window.

"Get out slowly, Kir," one of the agents ordered, his pistol pointed at her head. "Gin wants to see you."

Sera closed her eyes. She hoped that Ran had told forward what she had said to her. She also hoped that Kudo - or anyone else - understood what did she mean.

"Well, let's get back to the business. Have you ever been called with any other name than with the name you currently have?" Vermouth asked.
"It doesn't help if I stay quiet so yes. I had another name."
"What was that name?"
"It-" Sera almost said it. I must not...
"Hmm... you don't need to say it yet. Wait for a while and say it then..." Vermouth gave her a warm smile. Gin stood behind the woman and got a message to his phone.

"Kir is here."

Oh no...

What did she mean? That the real assassination time is actually 10 hours earlier than we thought? Shinichi puzzled. Then that would put it at 4 am. That would make sense, if Mizunashi was going to assassinate him . . . She'd just do it before work. Who would believe that a television announcer would kill someone on her way to the television station?

"The assassination attempt is at 4 am, not 2 pm," he said.

"Are you sure, Kudo-kun?" Jodie-sensei asked.

"Masumi-san said it herself. We'd be 10 hours late if we prepared for an assassination at 2 pm."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Bring Kir to the small room off this one and put a gun to her head. I want her to see what happens when she doesn't do her job properly," Gin ordered Vodka. "If this girl says anything suspicious about her, I want you to kill her."

Vodka frowned. "Are you sure Anokata will like that, Aniki?"

"He thinks there's a mole; I'm merely flushing them out the best way I know how." Gin glared at the other man, who nodded and backed out of the room. Turning back to Masumi-san, he watched the girl struggle not to give into Vermouth's soothing tone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``
Kir complied with a smile, holding her hands out slightly to show that she wasn't holding a weapon.

"Place yourself face down on the car trunk," the man ordered. Once he relieved her of her weapons, he nodded. "Walk ahead of me." They walked to an elevator where he pressed the button for the interrogation floor.

Have they found me out? Why the escort? Kir wondered as the elevator slowly rose. She received her answer when the elevator doors opened and Vodka stood there. "Follow me," he said.

Sera heard a door opening somewhere and noticed a mirror at one of the walls of that room she was with Vermouth and Gin.

"I guess that's not a normal mirror..."
"Correct. Kir and Vodka are at the other side. They can see and hear everything that happens here." Vermouth answered. "Now, what made you contact Kir in the first place?"
"..."
"C'mon... as long as you tell the truth it's much easier for you."
"After seeing her at Tokyo Tower I became suspicious and wanted to find out what was going on..."
"Tokyo Tower? You mean four weeks ago?" Vermouth asked. Sera nodded. She couldn't do anything else.
"Was that all? Is there any other reason you wanted to meet her?"
Sera bit her lip.
"That... That matter doesn't belong to you at all..."
"It does... You know why? Because right now... all your friends lives -and of course Kir's life- are lying on our hands." Vermouth whispered to the girl's ear.
"Just shut up... It's all your fault..." Sera's shoulders shook. "Becouse of you... Because of her... I don't have a brother anymore..."
Sera lifted her eyes from the floor and gave a murderous look the two organization members as she yelled: "BECAUSE OF YOU I DON'T HAVE A BROTHER ANYMORE!!!"

How Sera managed to say those words under the control of truth serum, she didn't know. Maybe she was thinking so hardly her emotions and reactions when she had heard about her brother's assumed 'death' for the first time. Or then the influence of that drug was already wearing of.

Gin smiled at the girl's outburst. "So you are Akai Shuichi's sister . . . I thought so." Their facial features were too similar to be otherwise. He pulled out his Beretta and angled it under her chin. "After this is over, I'll be happy to send you to the other side so you can see him."

The girl swallowed hard, her green eyes glaring up at him.

"Who is Kir? Why did she save your life in Tokyo Tower?" Gin hissed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vodka handcuffed Kir's hands behind her back and forced her to sit in a chair with his gun held against her head. Through the one-way mirror, Kir could see Gin and Vermouth interrogating Masumi-san, who had obviously been beaten. Blood stained the girl's clothing, and her nose looked broken.

"You see the girl's face?" Vodka whispered in her ear. "Your face is going to look worse when we get through with you."

Kir shrugged as though she didn't care. "She means nothing to me. She was just a contact."

"A contact that you've been sending e-mails and meeting for over the last month. A witness that you saved in Tokyo Tower after lying to Gin. Gin doesn't like being lied to, Kir."

"I... have no idea..." Sera mumbled, turning her face away but still keeping her eyes on Gin. "She seemed to soft for being an assasin from the very beginning..."
"Really... That means then we have no use for her if she is 'too soft'..." Gin smirked.

No matter what I say... They are going to kill us both anyways... Sera wanted to bit her lip and close her eyes for a moment to think but she didn't want to show any signs of weakness. She just stayed quiet and kept staring at the man in front of her.

((I'm completely blocked... I have no idea how Sera and Kir are going to survive from that situation... I hope you have an idea...))

((My only idea is have Akai/Okiya bust in, but I haven't figured out how he's going to do it w/o giving himself away))

Kir felt Vodka ready his trigger finger at Masumi's reply. She took a deep breath and thought of her brother. I'm sorry I failed, Ei-chan. I won't be able to come home to you.

"Not yet, Vodka. I still have questions to ask Kir," Gin said, looking toward them. "Just keep her under control."

Like she'd be able to do anything with guns pointed at both her and a hostage. Kir shifted a little; maybe she could reach her bracelet. It had a sharp point on it that was handy for picking locks. Vodka's gun barrel pressed harder against her head as a warning, and Kir settled down.

Sera noticed the ropes that had been tied around her legs had loosened during the time she had been thrown around the room. Her hands were still tightly tied behind her back but she wasn't tied to the chair.
If I just could get this rope away...

Gin's finger on the trigger iched.

Now! Sera swept the chair, she was sitting, down and fell along on the floor. "Ouch..." She had managed to dodge the bullet but it had scratched her temple and caused some more blood dripping on her face.

"Not bad..." Gin grabbed her hair and forced her to stand. Her legs were free now but after falling on the floor she felt dizzy. "...but you just confirmed your fate."
"Like hell I'd die... I have no intention to meet my brother yet. He'd just complain how reckless I am." Sera's knee hit the man's stomach and forced him to let go her hair.

Flack vest... I guess I can't escape from here easily... At least not when my hands are tied..

As Gin stumbled back, something metallic hit the back of Sera's head, sending her to the floor. She struggled to stand and saw Vermouth standing over her, a pistol in her hand. "Ah, ah, I wouldn't try to trip me," the blond woman said, firing the weapon. The bullet hit the floor close enough to Sera's leg that she felt concrete chips cut her skin.

Cursing, Gin aimed his gun at her, his fingers beginning to squeeze the trigger. Sera fully expected the next bullet to go through her head, but Vermouth grabbed his arm. "Gin, the Americans are going to raise a fuss if we kill her."

He shook her off. "What are they going to do? Last time I heard, Japan's not under the FBI's jurisdiction." He aimed the Beretta at Sera again.

Suddenly, the wailing sound of a fire alarm pierced the air. "What the hell?" Gin muttered, raising his gun to the ceiling. A B.O. minion burst through the door, and Gin whirled around, aiming the gun at him. "I'm not to be disturbed while interrogating a prisoner!" he snapped.

"Sorry, sir, but a fire's broken in the underground parking lot near your Porsche," the man stammered.

Sera saw Gin's eyes widen. "Damnit! Has anyone moved it?"

What I can see from the woman's movements she isn't wearing any protection... Not a field work type member I guess... Sera thought hard all her opinions. If Gin leaves I can try to knock her out. It'll be hard though... And cut this ropes around my wrists- She felt something to hit her face and fell on the floor again.

"Don't try anything funny. I can see from your face you are planning something." Vermouth smirked.
"I leave her to you and go to check what the hell is going on." Gin said to the woman and left the room.
"Okay!"

Sera glanced at the mirror nearby. Now would be a good moment for Kir to escape. And for Sera, too. When the biggest threat was elsewhere...

Whoever attacked knows Gin well. I think that Porsche is Gin's only weak spot. Kir watched Gin leave the room, and then she gagged as a gun muzzle jammed in her mouth. Obviously, Vodka wasn't taking any chances with her.

Vodka's mouth pulled into a thin line. "Do anything funny and I pull the trigger," he threatened for the third time in an hour.

Kir nodded her acquiescence, choking a little on the muzzle as she kept her eyes on his trigger finger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vermouth snapped her fingers and bright lights in the smaller room turned on, allowing Sera to see Kir and Vodka. "Now, shall we continue the interrogation?" the woman asked over the loud fire alarm.

"I prefer not... There is nothing I'd tell you anymore." Sera smiled.
"What?"
"Thanks to the fire alarm, I had a chance to get away from this ropes." Sera pulled her hands visible. "And the influence of that truth serum has already worn off."
Vermouth aimed the gun to the girl's forehead. "When did it wear off?"
"I have no idea." Sera shrugged and pocketed her hands. She smirked. "But I'm sure it isn't the FBI who came here..."
"What makes you think so?"
"I told them not to come." The girl stated as it had been obvious thing.
"You... I see... When you talked with your friend, right?"
"Correct. It doesn't matter did she understand my message or not. The main thing was that she'd tell it forward." The girl smirked. "I really was worried could they stay calm and consentrate in the main thing: the upcoming assasination. I also told them not to be late for ten hours."
"You little..."
"They should be ready now. To caught the one who is replacing Mizunashi-san... or Kir, like you are calling her."

Chianti absently chewed on a picture of the target as she focused her rifle at the target's garage door. "Ready," she whispered to her colleague over her radio.

The plan was to call the target's phone, pretending that there was an emergency so that he would rush out to his car. Being sleepy and caught off guard, he wouldn't think twice about leaving his house. They had already drugged the chauffeur with potent liquor, so the businessman would have to drive himself.

She listened to her accomplice call the businessman, pretending to be a secretary, and then reported, "Good luck Chianti."

Smiling, she peered through the scope as the garage door slowly opened, revealing the businessman's car backing out of the driveway.

Suddenly, several cars pulled up behind him, and foreigners stepped out, blocking Chianti's view. "Damn!" she swore, trying to get a better angle.

Sera walked towards the door, keeping her hands in her jeans's pockets. She didn't even bother to look at Vermouth. She knew the woman was still aiming at her head but wasn't going to fire. Not before she'd get more answers.
"Stop it right there. Or you'll have a nice hole through your head." The woman hissed. Sera gave a quick glance to her.
"Would that hole be through my forehead ot through my tempels?"
"What do you mean with that?"
"Think it yourself." Sera held her hand on the door knob. "Or then I can tell you..."
"..."

Sera looked at Kir who was sitting at the other side of the mirror/window. The woman nodded slightly.
Yeah... Even if we both survive from this alive... There is no way she could stay here.

"What I have understood about my brother's death... was that he was shot through his forehead. But in police reports the bullet holes where on the both tempels..."

Kir saw Vermouth's eyes widen in comprehension. "The bullet holes didn't match!" the American said.

Vodka jerked, causing his gun barrel to hit the roof of Kir's mouth. She felt tears come into her eyes as pain shot through her head. "You bitch!" he snapped, drawing his gun out and hitting her across the face with it. "You didn't kill him!"

Kir felt her nose break and her teeth loosen as her head jerked sideways from the blow. Coughing, she raised her head and glared up at him, which ticked him off more. Jamming the pistol against her forehead, he pulled the trigger.

"They didn't, yes. And that's the reason I contacted her in the first place." Sera watched worriedly as Vodka hit Kir and placed the gun against her forehead.

This bad... But what else I can do now...

Without thinking Sera took some steps towards Vermouth and for the woman's surprise knocked the gun from her hands.
"I bet you are pretty important for the organization." The girl said, pointing Vermouth with the gun.
"Tables have turned, huh?" The woman didn't smile.
"Bingo..." Sera took a look at the other room. Vodka was ready to pull the trigger. "If I was you I wouldn't do that."

Vodka blinked stupidly.
"Right. Now, put your gun on the table and uncuff Kir."

Kir stumbled to her feet when Vodka obeyed Masumi-san's orders and uncuffed her. Breathing shallowly through her mouth, Kir forced Vodka to sit in the chair and handcuffed his hands behind his back like he had done with her. She felt relieved that he didn't pull the trigger like she first thought. After searching his pockets, she pulled out some keys and swiped his gun from the table.

She exited from the smaller room, locking the door behind her, and nearly ran into another B.O. minion hurrying down the hall. He swung at her, but she used a judo throw to land him on his back. I'm sorry Dad, I failed you. Kir used the keys she'd confiscated from Vodka to unlock the interrogation room.

"You okay?" Kir asked Sera as she entered the room.
"Enough, yes." The girl replied. Kir took the rope Sera had been tied with and started to wrap it around Vermouth's wrists and other body.

"I guess... I'm the reason we are in this mess." Sera sighed as Vermouth was sitting on the floor and Kir leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.
"I guess so too... But it was only the matter of time when they would have found out."
"Hmm... are you okay? You are a bit pale." Sera asked.
"I'm fine enough. Let's go before Gin comes back."
"Sure. Just one thing..." Sera took her own cell phone from Vermouth's jacket's pocket and checked there weren't any bugs placed in it.

"By the way... Who did you mean when you said you knew who is behind the attack against Gin's Porsche?" Kir asked as they ran through the corridors.
"Subaru-san... He is pretty smart and I bet he is aware about the situation." Sera used her brother's fake name in the case there still were some bugs in their clothes or around the walls.

Kir led Masumi-san to another exit away from the underground parking lot, pulling them into dark corners whenever B.O. underlings ran past them, her body covering the girl. "Subaru-san, huh? He must be pretty intelligent," Kir remarked.

"Yes he is." They passed some mirrors and Masumi-san winced at their bloody reflections. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." Kir tried to wipe blood away from her face but only succeeded in smearing it further. They just needed to go a bit further and then they'd be able to get out. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just a broken nose."

They reached a door that led outside of the building.

"Stop it right there." A voice said behind them and they could hear a click from a gun. They turned around. Gin was standing there.
"Oh great..." Sera mumbled.
"Somehow I guessed this." Kir shrugged.

"It seems I shouldn't have left you alone with Vermouth and Vodka..." Gin stated.
"They both are still alive if you are interested about that detail..." Sera took a handkerchef from her pocket and wiped her face to it.
"Are you a pacifist?" Kir mumbled to the girl.
"Nope." Sera put the handkerchef away and pocketed her hands. "Pacifist hates all kind of violence."

"Heh." Gin's lips curved into a smile before he abruptly lowered his silenced Beretta and shot Kir in the leg and the shoulder. She crumpled against a wall, hissing at the pain. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Masumi-san tense. Gin apparently did too, because he said, "Try that and the traitor will get a bullet in the head." To Kir, he ordered, "Get up."

Clutching her wounds, Kir glared at Gin as she forced herself to stand. Then she heard a click behind Gin and a familiar voice say, "Long time no see, Koibito-san."

Sera sighed in relief.
"Are you always this late?" She smirked. "Brother?"

They could see Gin eyes widen as the one and only Akai Shuichi stepped behind him.
"Sometimes yes..." He was wearing a black denim jacket and black jeans. On his head was his usual black beanie. and obviously there was no scar in his face. "...but I'm trying to get rid of that habit."
"Like you could do so..." Sera smirked.

Gin stiffened slightly, but his facial expression didn't change. "Akai-san. Obviously Kir failed her assignment to kill you."

"I forced her to follow my orders in exchange for her life." Shuichi-niisan jerked his head toward the street. "Sera-chan, get Kir to the car in the alley and stay there. There are bandages in a first-aid box in the backseat."

Sera nodded and slipped the woman's arm over her shoulder and clamped her hand over the wound. "Lean on me," she whispered as she started to lead her toward the car.

Kir visibly clenched her teeth as they slowly limped away. Sera felt relieved when they reached Shuichi-niisan's vehicle; Kir was losing a lot of blood.

Sera took the first-aid kit and started to wrap some bandages around Kir's wound.
"He came just in time, right?" She smiled to the woman.
"Guess so..."

After finishing Sera took her mobile phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"Kudo-kun! How are ya?"
"Ma- Masumi-san? Are you alright?"
"Yup. I'm fine. Mizunashi-san is not that well though but it's okay."
"What happened?"
"Nah... Nothing. I'll explain everything when we get back. Bye!"
"A- Wai-!" Sera hung up the call and grinned.

"You really like annoy others..." Kir mumbled.