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quirkypeanutblu
Character/Fandom: Darker than BLACK/Hei
Prompt: 083: Build (from the 100 Prompts Challenge)
Word Count: 3434
Summary: Hei goes to Shanghai to meet with the remnants of the EPR.
Author Notes/Warnings: Contractors, nudity, politics.
Three weeks later and it was raining again as Hei made his way to the Nakanoshima subway station.
The EPR—and by now Hei was convinced that it truly was them, since the Syndicate would have made their move by now—had assured Hei that he had plenty of time to think over their offer, and that the teleporter would be there waiting for him whenever he chose to meet. Which meant that they were watching Nakanoshima remotely, and that the teleporter was somewhere close by, if not frequenting the station itself.
Hei had been to Nakanoshima twice now in order to scope out the terrain, and Yin had been keeping an eye on the station so that Hei could monitor the traffic flow. The station wasn’t all that busy, but at its busiest there was a healthy press of people, providing a crowd that was easy to disappear into.
It was rush hour now, when there were guaranteed to be a good number of people. The EPR had been careful to choose a public place, but they had allowed Hei to set the terms of when to arrive. It was a concession, Hei knew, and he wasn’t sure if it was an act of good faith or a show of power. The two were sometimes easily confused.
The station was damp and noisy as dozens of people headed home from work. Hei blended in easily and made his way to the designated bench. No one else was sitting, so Hei sat down and leaned back, the picture of nonchalance. From beneath the hood of his raincoat, he watched the crowds, taking note of every person and every move they made.
From a puddle of water nearby, a specter was watching.
“I’m here, Yin,” Hei muttered under his breath. “Go with the others now and head to the safehouse. I’ll contact you when I return.”
Yin’s surveillance specter lingered, the black patches of its eyes turned toward Hei. She wanted to come with him, he knew—but it simply wasn’t an option. Yin was currently only one of three Dolls with the Constellation. They needed her more than Hei did; and Hei needed her safe.
After a moment, the specter shimmered and disappeared.
Hei waited, glancing at the station clock every now and then, watching the trains come and go. The minutes dragged by. Most people hated the waiting that made up a good portion of covert activities, but Hei didn’t mind. The waiting itself was a power play, but it allowed Hei to run over scenarios in his head and come up with strategies.
It was a full fifteen minutes before a young Chinese man with hair to his shoulders walked slowly by, carrying a copy of the Shanghai Daily. Hei got casually to his feet and began to follow.
The man led him carefully through the crowd, until they reached an alcove behind the staircase. Once they were out of sight the man turned to Hei and studied him for a moment.
“One ticket to Shanghai?” the man asked in Mandarin. A Sichuan dialect, even. Hei was so startled to hear his native language that it took him a moment to answer.
“On the Evening train,” he said finally, answering in the same language. It had been awhile since he had spoken Mandarin; his consonants sounded rusty to his ears.
The teleporter noticed and smirked a little. “I thought you’d be taller.”
“I get that a lot.”
The man extended a hand. “My name is Hong. I’ll be taking you directly to the EPR headquarters.”
It was clever. This way Hei wouldn’t be able to tell where in Shanghai their headquarters was, and the EPR wouldn’t have to go to the messy trouble of blindfolding him.
Hei watched Hong for a moment, then reached out and took his hand.
Hei hated teleporting. It felt like tumbling through thick, muddy water, and it gave you terrible vertigo. People new to the sensation often vomited soon after arriving at their destination.
There was also the rather unfortunate fact that you left all of your clothes—and weapons—behind.
Hei and Hong reappeared in what at first glance seemed to be a parlor of some kind, both of them stark naked. Hei knew enough not to let himself be embarrassed, though he made a point not to look at Hong, instead focusing on taking in his surroundings as quickly as he could. There were at least three exits out of the parlor, and there didn’t seem to be any security cameras. There was also no ambush waiting, which was a good sign. Though Hei noticed that there were no electronics or metal of any kind in the room.
They were prepared for him.
Another man who looked to be Eastern European or perhaps Russian was there to meet them, holding two red bathrobes. He stepped forward and bowed, his face expressionless.
“Welcome to Shanghai, BK-201,” he said in Mandarin, and offered the bathrobe.
Hong let out an appreciative whistle. “Maybe that’s where the rumors about your size come from.”
Hei shot Hong an acidic glare and pulled the robe tightly around himself. He felt his face burn and turned away before the two Contractors could see it. Showing emotion here could get him killed.
He took the opportunity to pull the Zanzibar key out from under his tongue and slip it into the bathrobe’s pocket.
“There’s a room nearby where you will be able to change,” the other Contractor said. “Hong will then escort you down to the dining room. The proposition will be discussed over dinner.”
Hong smirked again at Hei as he tied his robe shut. “Bet it’s been awhile since you had a proper Chinese meal.”
Hei didn’t answer, though he couldn’t help but be impressed not only by their attempts to win him over, but also of their knowledge of him. Amber must have talked about him more than he originally thought. There was really no better way to tempt him than with food.
Proper Chinese food, no less.
It hadn’t really dawned on him until now. He was in Shanghai. China. He was…home wasn’t the right word, and this felt nothing like a homecoming, anyway. But the sense of nostalgia and longing was impossible to deny.
Hei forced himself back to the present. He couldn’t afford distractions here.
“Who will I be meeting with?”
“The core members of the EPR. They will introduce themselves at dinner. Now, follow me.” The other Contractor turned toward one of the doors and walked out. Hei followed, and Hong trailed behind, so that they effectively had Hei pinned. Hei focused on taking stock of the hallway, and noting every door and window. The sun was still up here, and Hei could see the Yangtze Delta through the glass, perhaps two miles away.
The two Contractors led Hei to another room, a small bedroom from what Hei could tell. Again, the room was devoid of electronics and metal. There were bars on the windows.
They had even laid an outfit on the bed for Hei. A silk, Shanghainese changshan, the kind one wore to weddings and festivals.
Hei got the feeling they were mocking him.
“I’ll be back for you in a few minutes,” said Hong with a bit of a nod, as the other Contractor stationed himself outside Hei’s door. “I have to take care of my obeisance.”
Hei only nodded, and Hong shut the door. As soon as he was gone, Hei pulled out his Zanzibar key, slipped it into the keyhole, and returned to Cicero long enough to grab one of his knives.
-------
Hei felt ridiculous in the changshan. It was unnecessary, it restricted his movement, and it was clearly rather expensive, which made him uncomfortable. The only upside was that there were plenty of places to conceal a weapon.
Hong led Hei to the dining room before vanishing again, no doubt to guard one of the exits. There were six of them at the circular dining table, and they all turned toward Hei as he walked into the room.
“Welcome to Shanghai, 201-san,” a Japanese woman said, nodding to him. “We are glad that you chose to come.”
“It was the logical choice,” Hei said. It had been the only choice.
“Please, sit. Dinner has already been prepared.”
He took a seat, keeping his eyes on the six the whole time. They were all watching him just as closely. Most of them were Westerners or Japanese; there was only one Chinese person at the table, a woman sitting on Hei’s left.
“My name is Akane,” the Japanese woman said as three men brought out the food. “I am the temporary leader of the Evening Primrose. The other five here are the core members.”
Hei merely nodded before he dug into his food. Pleasantries were for humans who bothered with those sorts of things. He had to admit, though, they were pulling out all stops to try and sell themselves to him. The food was amazing; it wasn’t Sichuan, but Hei had always been partial to Shanghai cuisine.
The EPR was desperate to have him as an ally; that gave him an advantage.
“You said you wanted an alliance.”
“It is the most logical choice we can both make right now,” said the man sitting to Akane’s right—English, by his accent.
“An alliance with us gives you access to China, Southeast Asia, and Russia. We will provide contacts, safehouses and our Doll network, all of which will advance the Constellation’s cause. We would essentially be adding some stars to your sky, 201-san.”
Cute. Hei fixed his gaze on her. “And what do you get?”
“You,” said Akane.
Silence.
“You’re an incredible asset, 201-san. Simply mentioning your name invokes fear and respect. You are without doubt the most fearsome Contractor in the world. As well as the most famous.”
She had to be exaggerating. “I find fame tiresome.”
“If the Black Reaper is with the EPR, we regain our power and our influence. We’ll be able to rebuild and fight again. The Constellation will bring us more soldiers than ever before. We will be able to replicate the Constellation in other areas of the world. With enough influence, we will become an organization to rival the Syndicate. The world will have no choice but to accept the Contractors.”
It was what Hei had feared. They were the same old EPR, the same old terrorists. Their motives and methods hadn’t changed.
“I’m not interested in fighting another war,” Hei said quietly.
“You already are, BK-201,” said the Chinese woman. “Creating the Constellation was a declaration of war against the Syndicate. The end result is that one of you will be destroyed.”
“And the one destroyed is less likely to be you if you are with us,” one of the men added.
Hei was watching Akane’s face, but her expression was blank.
“We need fighters, 201-san. Soldiers.”
Hei grit his teeth a little before forcing himself to relax. “Were you in Tokyo during the Hell’s Gate events, Akane-san?” He looked around the table. “Were any of you?”
No one spoke.
“South America, then, during the Heaven’s Gate wars?”
Silence.
“In South America, the rival syndicates were pitting us against each other. We were weapons; we slaughtered each other because they told us to do so; because that’s what a weapon does. Every night hundreds and hundreds of stars would fall. The Gate would drive Contractors insane, the Meteor Fragment raised Contractors’ powers until they couldn’t control them anymore. In the end an entire continent, billions of humans and Contractors, were destroyed.”
“Collateral damage,” Akane said, waving a hand. “Necessary sacrifices to stop the Saturn Ring.”
“It was the same in Japan,” Hei went on. “Contractors fighting Contractors and humans, thousands dying.”
“For our survival.”
“At what cost? Amber would have done the same to Japan as she did to South America. Millions of people gone in the blink of an eye. Contractors would have been protected if it had worked—but nothing would have changed for us. We would still be weapons. Worse than that, we would become nothing but monsters to the rest of the world. We would never be free.” Hei paused. “The Constellation exists to offer freedom to Contractors, to give them an alternative. It doesn’t exist so that us ‘weapons’ can simply change hands.”
Akane was glaring at him now, clear anger in her eyes.
“The EPR is not the Syndicate, 201-san.”
“Not yet. But you’ll become it if you continue to treat Contractors as nothing but tools.”
They were silent for awhile, most of them as expressionless as ever. Akane was no longer the only one who was angry. Hei watched them, waiting.
“You are a very unusual Contractor, BK-201,” the Chinese woman Hei said, propping her chin on her hand and giving him a thoughtful look.
“We have the same goals,” Hei said, glancing at her before he looked back at Akane. “Rights for Contractors. The ability of each Contractor to choose what he or she wants to do. But how will things be when that happens? Will we coexist with the humans, or will we simply continue to destroy each other?”
“Humans are obsolete,” Akane said, her voice sharp. “Contractors are the next stage; the final step for evolution.”
Hei stared at her. Was this really what she believed—what the EPR believed? That boy, Maki, had said something similar.
“Even if that’s true,” Hei said carefully, “we’re still only prototypes. We’re not perfect.”
“You say ‘we,’” one of the men sneered, “but are you really even a Contractor?”
Hei’s eyes snapped to the man who had spoken. “No,” he said, and he could barely believe that he was admitting it. “But I’m not human, either. I’m something else.”
A heavy silence fell.
“That’s…the point,” Hei said, frowning at his plate and feeling as if he was finally understanding something. “It’s not black and white. People can choose. Contractors have choices, as much as humans do. They just need to realize it.”
No one spoke. Hei took that as a cue to continue.
“I think humans and Contractors can coexist. But that can never happen if we remain the weapons they believe us to be.”
“Nor can it happen if the Syndicate continues to exist,” Akane pointed out.
“I’m not saying there’s not going to be any fighting. I’m not naïve. I’m saying that we need to choose our battles. We need to logically choose when and where and how to fight. And I’m saying that the Constellation will have nothing to do with the EPR, if all you want to do is use it to help fight your war.”
“You forget what kind of position you are in, 201-san.”
“I know perfectly well what kind of position I’m in.”
“Then perhaps you wouldn’t mind the Syndicate knocking on your door in Sapporo. When the EPR offers support to whatever remains of the Constellation after that, do you really think any true Contractor would turn us down? We will have the Constellation and be able to replicate it everywhere that the EPR has influence.”
The EPR wanted and needed Hei himself, but Contractors had always been good at ditching things they wanted and needed, if it meant the advantage. If it meant survival. This conversation was taking a rapid turn for the worse.
“Contractors are beginning to wake up, Akane-san,” Hei said in a low growl. “Even you should know that. My team is loyal to me.”
He let that sit there; let them interpret it how they wanted. For all they knew, Hei had ordered his team to use all of the Constellation’s resources to take out the EPR if anything off-color happened. The Constellation might still be small and quiet, but every single Contractor that it had freed now owed the Constellation their lives.
That was a lot of power. And from the look on Akane’s face, she knew it. It was the entire reason that the EPR wanted an alliance in the first place.
There was a long, tense silence.
“What would you propose instead, 201-san?” Akane spoke as if through her teeth.
Hei smiled a little. “There are plenty of constellations in the sky, and there need to be. Japan’s Contractors aren’t the only ones that need help. But they’re vulnerable. Stars fall all the time. You’re right, Akane-san. Despite everything else, we need soldiers. The Syndicate won’t sit still for much longer, and we need to be ready for when they move against us. We need to be ready for the next sunspot cycle.”
“That was exactly my point before, 201-san.”
“No more going on the offensive,” Hei said, staring at her with hard eyes. “No more terrorist attacks. No more indiscriminate killing. The Contractors freed by the Constellation, or Constellations, need to be just that, free. Free to choose whether they want to fight or not.”
He paused a moment and leaned back with a bit of a sigh. The food was gone. Hei took a drink of water. He didn’t normally talk that much for anything.
“That’s all I’m asking,” he said, and fell silent. He had said all he could say. It was up to the EPR now.
For a long time no one spoke, and the only sound in the room was controlled breathing and chopsticks against plates. As the silence continued and as the other Contractors continued to stare at him, Hei’s grip tightened on his own chopsticks. If he splintered them they would make good weapons; the faux-china plates could be easily broken and turned into makeshift knives. Hei doubted he’d be able to fight his way out to the streets, or even out of this room, but he could probably take a few of them with him.
Finally Akane spoke.
“We need to discuss this,” she said. “Return to your room for now; we will contact you later. Hong will escort you.”
Hong appeared as if on cue from another room. He smiled faintly at the tension in the room before beckoning Hei to follow him.
Out in the hallway Hong chuckled and said, “Figured you’d be the type to rile them up. Guess we’ll see soon whether we have to kill you or not.”
-------
They kept him waiting for four hours. Hei spent the time alternately sitting on the bed and watching the door, or pacing back and forth in the tiny room. He kept his knife ready just inside his sleeve, watching for the unmistakable Russel Synchrotron glow, listening for the approach of feet.
He was on his feet the moment he heard someone coming. The door opened and Akane appeared, followed by the Chinese woman and Hong.
“We’ll accept this alliance,” Akane said without preamble. Hei felt a surge of relief. “You have our resources to set up your Constellations across the East. There are two conditions.”
Hei had figured there would be; nothing was ever free. He was just glad that this wasn’t going to end in bloodshed.
“Name them.”
“All potential soldiers come straight to us. If they want to fight, you don’t give them your little speeches, you don’t try to talk them out of it. They come straight to Shanghai. In exchange you and your Constellations will have the EPR’s protection.”
“And the other condition?”
“We want a man of our own on your team. We want to be sure that you are in fact working with us, and not against us.”
Trust was practically a curse word to Contractors. It was to be expected, but this condition was slightly more troublesome. He frowned.
“Who?”
Akane looked over at Hong who smirked and saluted. “Hong will return with you to Sapporo. He will join your team and will assist in your efforts, while reporting directly to us. He needs to learn more Japanese as it is.”
“All I can really do is order food,” Hong said, laughter in his voice. “And ask where the Nakanoshima subway station is.”
Hei was silent for awhile. Of all people…
He stifled a sigh. There was nothing for it.
“Fine.”
“Then we have an agreement,” Akane said. For the first time she smiled, though it was rather thing, and she extended her hand. Hei shook it.
“We will be in touch. I hope you enjoyed your stay in Shanghai, 201-san.”
With that she was gone, leaving Hong with Hei. Hong grinned.
“Don’t worry. I have a feeling we’re going to be good friends,” he said, and held out his hand.
quirkypeanutbluCharacter/Fandom: Darker than BLACK/Hei
Prompt: 083: Build (from the 100 Prompts Challenge)
Word Count: 3434
Summary: Hei goes to Shanghai to meet with the remnants of the EPR.
Author Notes/Warnings: Contractors, nudity, politics.
Three weeks later and it was raining again as Hei made his way to the Nakanoshima subway station.
The EPR—and by now Hei was convinced that it truly was them, since the Syndicate would have made their move by now—had assured Hei that he had plenty of time to think over their offer, and that the teleporter would be there waiting for him whenever he chose to meet. Which meant that they were watching Nakanoshima remotely, and that the teleporter was somewhere close by, if not frequenting the station itself.
Hei had been to Nakanoshima twice now in order to scope out the terrain, and Yin had been keeping an eye on the station so that Hei could monitor the traffic flow. The station wasn’t all that busy, but at its busiest there was a healthy press of people, providing a crowd that was easy to disappear into.
It was rush hour now, when there were guaranteed to be a good number of people. The EPR had been careful to choose a public place, but they had allowed Hei to set the terms of when to arrive. It was a concession, Hei knew, and he wasn’t sure if it was an act of good faith or a show of power. The two were sometimes easily confused.
The station was damp and noisy as dozens of people headed home from work. Hei blended in easily and made his way to the designated bench. No one else was sitting, so Hei sat down and leaned back, the picture of nonchalance. From beneath the hood of his raincoat, he watched the crowds, taking note of every person and every move they made.
From a puddle of water nearby, a specter was watching.
“I’m here, Yin,” Hei muttered under his breath. “Go with the others now and head to the safehouse. I’ll contact you when I return.”
Yin’s surveillance specter lingered, the black patches of its eyes turned toward Hei. She wanted to come with him, he knew—but it simply wasn’t an option. Yin was currently only one of three Dolls with the Constellation. They needed her more than Hei did; and Hei needed her safe.
After a moment, the specter shimmered and disappeared.
Hei waited, glancing at the station clock every now and then, watching the trains come and go. The minutes dragged by. Most people hated the waiting that made up a good portion of covert activities, but Hei didn’t mind. The waiting itself was a power play, but it allowed Hei to run over scenarios in his head and come up with strategies.
It was a full fifteen minutes before a young Chinese man with hair to his shoulders walked slowly by, carrying a copy of the Shanghai Daily. Hei got casually to his feet and began to follow.
The man led him carefully through the crowd, until they reached an alcove behind the staircase. Once they were out of sight the man turned to Hei and studied him for a moment.
“One ticket to Shanghai?” the man asked in Mandarin. A Sichuan dialect, even. Hei was so startled to hear his native language that it took him a moment to answer.
“On the Evening train,” he said finally, answering in the same language. It had been awhile since he had spoken Mandarin; his consonants sounded rusty to his ears.
The teleporter noticed and smirked a little. “I thought you’d be taller.”
“I get that a lot.”
The man extended a hand. “My name is Hong. I’ll be taking you directly to the EPR headquarters.”
It was clever. This way Hei wouldn’t be able to tell where in Shanghai their headquarters was, and the EPR wouldn’t have to go to the messy trouble of blindfolding him.
Hei watched Hong for a moment, then reached out and took his hand.
Hei hated teleporting. It felt like tumbling through thick, muddy water, and it gave you terrible vertigo. People new to the sensation often vomited soon after arriving at their destination.
There was also the rather unfortunate fact that you left all of your clothes—and weapons—behind.
Hei and Hong reappeared in what at first glance seemed to be a parlor of some kind, both of them stark naked. Hei knew enough not to let himself be embarrassed, though he made a point not to look at Hong, instead focusing on taking in his surroundings as quickly as he could. There were at least three exits out of the parlor, and there didn’t seem to be any security cameras. There was also no ambush waiting, which was a good sign. Though Hei noticed that there were no electronics or metal of any kind in the room.
They were prepared for him.
Another man who looked to be Eastern European or perhaps Russian was there to meet them, holding two red bathrobes. He stepped forward and bowed, his face expressionless.
“Welcome to Shanghai, BK-201,” he said in Mandarin, and offered the bathrobe.
Hong let out an appreciative whistle. “Maybe that’s where the rumors about your size come from.”
Hei shot Hong an acidic glare and pulled the robe tightly around himself. He felt his face burn and turned away before the two Contractors could see it. Showing emotion here could get him killed.
He took the opportunity to pull the Zanzibar key out from under his tongue and slip it into the bathrobe’s pocket.
“There’s a room nearby where you will be able to change,” the other Contractor said. “Hong will then escort you down to the dining room. The proposition will be discussed over dinner.”
Hong smirked again at Hei as he tied his robe shut. “Bet it’s been awhile since you had a proper Chinese meal.”
Hei didn’t answer, though he couldn’t help but be impressed not only by their attempts to win him over, but also of their knowledge of him. Amber must have talked about him more than he originally thought. There was really no better way to tempt him than with food.
Proper Chinese food, no less.
It hadn’t really dawned on him until now. He was in Shanghai. China. He was…home wasn’t the right word, and this felt nothing like a homecoming, anyway. But the sense of nostalgia and longing was impossible to deny.
Hei forced himself back to the present. He couldn’t afford distractions here.
“Who will I be meeting with?”
“The core members of the EPR. They will introduce themselves at dinner. Now, follow me.” The other Contractor turned toward one of the doors and walked out. Hei followed, and Hong trailed behind, so that they effectively had Hei pinned. Hei focused on taking stock of the hallway, and noting every door and window. The sun was still up here, and Hei could see the Yangtze Delta through the glass, perhaps two miles away.
The two Contractors led Hei to another room, a small bedroom from what Hei could tell. Again, the room was devoid of electronics and metal. There were bars on the windows.
They had even laid an outfit on the bed for Hei. A silk, Shanghainese changshan, the kind one wore to weddings and festivals.
Hei got the feeling they were mocking him.
“I’ll be back for you in a few minutes,” said Hong with a bit of a nod, as the other Contractor stationed himself outside Hei’s door. “I have to take care of my obeisance.”
Hei only nodded, and Hong shut the door. As soon as he was gone, Hei pulled out his Zanzibar key, slipped it into the keyhole, and returned to Cicero long enough to grab one of his knives.
-------
Hei felt ridiculous in the changshan. It was unnecessary, it restricted his movement, and it was clearly rather expensive, which made him uncomfortable. The only upside was that there were plenty of places to conceal a weapon.
Hong led Hei to the dining room before vanishing again, no doubt to guard one of the exits. There were six of them at the circular dining table, and they all turned toward Hei as he walked into the room.
“Welcome to Shanghai, 201-san,” a Japanese woman said, nodding to him. “We are glad that you chose to come.”
“It was the logical choice,” Hei said. It had been the only choice.
“Please, sit. Dinner has already been prepared.”
He took a seat, keeping his eyes on the six the whole time. They were all watching him just as closely. Most of them were Westerners or Japanese; there was only one Chinese person at the table, a woman sitting on Hei’s left.
“My name is Akane,” the Japanese woman said as three men brought out the food. “I am the temporary leader of the Evening Primrose. The other five here are the core members.”
Hei merely nodded before he dug into his food. Pleasantries were for humans who bothered with those sorts of things. He had to admit, though, they were pulling out all stops to try and sell themselves to him. The food was amazing; it wasn’t Sichuan, but Hei had always been partial to Shanghai cuisine.
The EPR was desperate to have him as an ally; that gave him an advantage.
“You said you wanted an alliance.”
“It is the most logical choice we can both make right now,” said the man sitting to Akane’s right—English, by his accent.
“An alliance with us gives you access to China, Southeast Asia, and Russia. We will provide contacts, safehouses and our Doll network, all of which will advance the Constellation’s cause. We would essentially be adding some stars to your sky, 201-san.”
Cute. Hei fixed his gaze on her. “And what do you get?”
“You,” said Akane.
Silence.
“You’re an incredible asset, 201-san. Simply mentioning your name invokes fear and respect. You are without doubt the most fearsome Contractor in the world. As well as the most famous.”
She had to be exaggerating. “I find fame tiresome.”
“If the Black Reaper is with the EPR, we regain our power and our influence. We’ll be able to rebuild and fight again. The Constellation will bring us more soldiers than ever before. We will be able to replicate the Constellation in other areas of the world. With enough influence, we will become an organization to rival the Syndicate. The world will have no choice but to accept the Contractors.”
It was what Hei had feared. They were the same old EPR, the same old terrorists. Their motives and methods hadn’t changed.
“I’m not interested in fighting another war,” Hei said quietly.
“You already are, BK-201,” said the Chinese woman. “Creating the Constellation was a declaration of war against the Syndicate. The end result is that one of you will be destroyed.”
“And the one destroyed is less likely to be you if you are with us,” one of the men added.
Hei was watching Akane’s face, but her expression was blank.
“We need fighters, 201-san. Soldiers.”
Hei grit his teeth a little before forcing himself to relax. “Were you in Tokyo during the Hell’s Gate events, Akane-san?” He looked around the table. “Were any of you?”
No one spoke.
“South America, then, during the Heaven’s Gate wars?”
Silence.
“In South America, the rival syndicates were pitting us against each other. We were weapons; we slaughtered each other because they told us to do so; because that’s what a weapon does. Every night hundreds and hundreds of stars would fall. The Gate would drive Contractors insane, the Meteor Fragment raised Contractors’ powers until they couldn’t control them anymore. In the end an entire continent, billions of humans and Contractors, were destroyed.”
“Collateral damage,” Akane said, waving a hand. “Necessary sacrifices to stop the Saturn Ring.”
“It was the same in Japan,” Hei went on. “Contractors fighting Contractors and humans, thousands dying.”
“For our survival.”
“At what cost? Amber would have done the same to Japan as she did to South America. Millions of people gone in the blink of an eye. Contractors would have been protected if it had worked—but nothing would have changed for us. We would still be weapons. Worse than that, we would become nothing but monsters to the rest of the world. We would never be free.” Hei paused. “The Constellation exists to offer freedom to Contractors, to give them an alternative. It doesn’t exist so that us ‘weapons’ can simply change hands.”
Akane was glaring at him now, clear anger in her eyes.
“The EPR is not the Syndicate, 201-san.”
“Not yet. But you’ll become it if you continue to treat Contractors as nothing but tools.”
They were silent for awhile, most of them as expressionless as ever. Akane was no longer the only one who was angry. Hei watched them, waiting.
“You are a very unusual Contractor, BK-201,” the Chinese woman Hei said, propping her chin on her hand and giving him a thoughtful look.
“We have the same goals,” Hei said, glancing at her before he looked back at Akane. “Rights for Contractors. The ability of each Contractor to choose what he or she wants to do. But how will things be when that happens? Will we coexist with the humans, or will we simply continue to destroy each other?”
“Humans are obsolete,” Akane said, her voice sharp. “Contractors are the next stage; the final step for evolution.”
Hei stared at her. Was this really what she believed—what the EPR believed? That boy, Maki, had said something similar.
“Even if that’s true,” Hei said carefully, “we’re still only prototypes. We’re not perfect.”
“You say ‘we,’” one of the men sneered, “but are you really even a Contractor?”
Hei’s eyes snapped to the man who had spoken. “No,” he said, and he could barely believe that he was admitting it. “But I’m not human, either. I’m something else.”
A heavy silence fell.
“That’s…the point,” Hei said, frowning at his plate and feeling as if he was finally understanding something. “It’s not black and white. People can choose. Contractors have choices, as much as humans do. They just need to realize it.”
No one spoke. Hei took that as a cue to continue.
“I think humans and Contractors can coexist. But that can never happen if we remain the weapons they believe us to be.”
“Nor can it happen if the Syndicate continues to exist,” Akane pointed out.
“I’m not saying there’s not going to be any fighting. I’m not naïve. I’m saying that we need to choose our battles. We need to logically choose when and where and how to fight. And I’m saying that the Constellation will have nothing to do with the EPR, if all you want to do is use it to help fight your war.”
“You forget what kind of position you are in, 201-san.”
“I know perfectly well what kind of position I’m in.”
“Then perhaps you wouldn’t mind the Syndicate knocking on your door in Sapporo. When the EPR offers support to whatever remains of the Constellation after that, do you really think any true Contractor would turn us down? We will have the Constellation and be able to replicate it everywhere that the EPR has influence.”
The EPR wanted and needed Hei himself, but Contractors had always been good at ditching things they wanted and needed, if it meant the advantage. If it meant survival. This conversation was taking a rapid turn for the worse.
“Contractors are beginning to wake up, Akane-san,” Hei said in a low growl. “Even you should know that. My team is loyal to me.”
He let that sit there; let them interpret it how they wanted. For all they knew, Hei had ordered his team to use all of the Constellation’s resources to take out the EPR if anything off-color happened. The Constellation might still be small and quiet, but every single Contractor that it had freed now owed the Constellation their lives.
That was a lot of power. And from the look on Akane’s face, she knew it. It was the entire reason that the EPR wanted an alliance in the first place.
There was a long, tense silence.
“What would you propose instead, 201-san?” Akane spoke as if through her teeth.
Hei smiled a little. “There are plenty of constellations in the sky, and there need to be. Japan’s Contractors aren’t the only ones that need help. But they’re vulnerable. Stars fall all the time. You’re right, Akane-san. Despite everything else, we need soldiers. The Syndicate won’t sit still for much longer, and we need to be ready for when they move against us. We need to be ready for the next sunspot cycle.”
“That was exactly my point before, 201-san.”
“No more going on the offensive,” Hei said, staring at her with hard eyes. “No more terrorist attacks. No more indiscriminate killing. The Contractors freed by the Constellation, or Constellations, need to be just that, free. Free to choose whether they want to fight or not.”
He paused a moment and leaned back with a bit of a sigh. The food was gone. Hei took a drink of water. He didn’t normally talk that much for anything.
“That’s all I’m asking,” he said, and fell silent. He had said all he could say. It was up to the EPR now.
For a long time no one spoke, and the only sound in the room was controlled breathing and chopsticks against plates. As the silence continued and as the other Contractors continued to stare at him, Hei’s grip tightened on his own chopsticks. If he splintered them they would make good weapons; the faux-china plates could be easily broken and turned into makeshift knives. Hei doubted he’d be able to fight his way out to the streets, or even out of this room, but he could probably take a few of them with him.
Finally Akane spoke.
“We need to discuss this,” she said. “Return to your room for now; we will contact you later. Hong will escort you.”
Hong appeared as if on cue from another room. He smiled faintly at the tension in the room before beckoning Hei to follow him.
Out in the hallway Hong chuckled and said, “Figured you’d be the type to rile them up. Guess we’ll see soon whether we have to kill you or not.”
-------
They kept him waiting for four hours. Hei spent the time alternately sitting on the bed and watching the door, or pacing back and forth in the tiny room. He kept his knife ready just inside his sleeve, watching for the unmistakable Russel Synchrotron glow, listening for the approach of feet.
He was on his feet the moment he heard someone coming. The door opened and Akane appeared, followed by the Chinese woman and Hong.
“We’ll accept this alliance,” Akane said without preamble. Hei felt a surge of relief. “You have our resources to set up your Constellations across the East. There are two conditions.”
Hei had figured there would be; nothing was ever free. He was just glad that this wasn’t going to end in bloodshed.
“Name them.”
“All potential soldiers come straight to us. If they want to fight, you don’t give them your little speeches, you don’t try to talk them out of it. They come straight to Shanghai. In exchange you and your Constellations will have the EPR’s protection.”
“And the other condition?”
“We want a man of our own on your team. We want to be sure that you are in fact working with us, and not against us.”
Trust was practically a curse word to Contractors. It was to be expected, but this condition was slightly more troublesome. He frowned.
“Who?”
Akane looked over at Hong who smirked and saluted. “Hong will return with you to Sapporo. He will join your team and will assist in your efforts, while reporting directly to us. He needs to learn more Japanese as it is.”
“All I can really do is order food,” Hong said, laughter in his voice. “And ask where the Nakanoshima subway station is.”
Hei was silent for awhile. Of all people…
He stifled a sigh. There was nothing for it.
“Fine.”
“Then we have an agreement,” Akane said. For the first time she smiled, though it was rather thing, and she extended her hand. Hei shook it.
“We will be in touch. I hope you enjoyed your stay in Shanghai, 201-san.”
With that she was gone, leaving Hong with Hei. Hong grinned.
“Don’t worry. I have a feeling we’re going to be good friends,” he said, and held out his hand.
