Dolls (1)

~Doll Layer 1~ (anon's pov)
It's over for me now.
I never thought... I mean, of course, I've expected it to end...
But I never thought it would end THIS way.
I hate it. Looking at Felix, now...
I know, I know he has the right to be angry to me. I know what's wrong here. I know what I did.
But, I just hate it.
I'm not as insane as everyone thought. But maybe I am insane after all.
...That's right...
"Finally you're back, Sergei. It sure is quite a while."
Maybe these familiar faces around me are fine. I am the one who's not fine.
"I hope you know what you've done."
Of course, I'm not doing it under the moon. I did it...
"Please, just let him live."
"I did it... with my hands."
"Why?"
No reason. All I thought about back then was...
I want to kill Joseph. I want to kill Joseph. It just kept echoing in my head.
I hated him... I guess. He left Iriina, that's what was wrong. But even, thinking about it now...
There's no use. I left her.
It was me, who left her first. Left her with no choice. Left her with nobody. Left her with nothing.
Trying to make a positive thinking out of that was almost impossible.
That's right...
It was all my fault. I shouldn't have let Iriina go. Even until now, I...
I don't want to... be apart from her...

~Doll Layer 2~ (Vlad's pov)
The snow is really beautiful this year.
Ah... but not as good as Volgograd's.
...That's right. I nearly forgot. Back there in Volgograd...
I always played... with Joseph. He liked snowmen.
There's nobody to play with here...
...
I'm starting to miss everyone. Usually Joseph loves to make snowmen, Georgia would just watch us from far away, and I'll just play with Joseph.
There's no going back to those times, huh...
Although I still silently wishes... that everything can go back as it was before...
...
But there's no way to do, it, huh...
This is starting to make me hate myself.
I'm still holding the doll. I just don't think I can really return it.
We promised to be together.... right?
I wish we can... Maybe if Samuel didn't pick me up there, I wouldn't be here, alive...
I hate... this weak self.
Joseph, sorry, I...
Couldn't really be a brother for you...
If we meet again, I wish you can just kill me. This is all sickening.

~Doll Layer 3~

Finally done with the police. 

...

"Let's meet again in the afterlife."

It's just... so quick, you know? Like you were there, and suddenly not there. It's just so quick. 

Like that day...

When the day dawned and the case started, I still trusted you.

"You didn’t do it, did you Kyrie?”

Maybe I shouldn't... have asked. 

Since that day, I hadn’t ever heard anything. I never knew the truth. 

But I didn't care. I've never been able to do field work since then, but... 

What's the use of doing field work if I'm doing it alone? 

Not alone? Well, there's Giuseppe, but...

It's never the same without Valkyrie. Everyone agreed with that. 

You sit on the railing – smiling and for a second I wondered …

Are you really yourself, or are you a witch?

Did you come to say sorry or to say goodbye?

You're innocent, but...

You shouldn’t have, you know.

You shouldn’t have …. I shouldn’t have.

That's right... nothing will ever be the same without Valkyrie... 

I'll always miss those times, when we were still together... 

When you were still you and not Merlin, I will... 

Never forget, but... 

I just want to trust you. That's it.

It's true, that's it...

~•~

For now. There's still three more dolls... (in Karakuri, I mentioned a matryoshka with six dolls, so please do wait patiently)

QUESTIONS ARE TRULY WELCOME. 

This six mothyish (?) gaidens are from both Karakuri and Matryoshka. I hope I can put more girls... let's see... there's... who else?

LARA! Thank you. And about the rest, let me have a good think before writing it down. 

(this is very mothyish, chicken...)

I have the narrative version of number 2 and 3 (though it's already kinda mothyish for the 3rd) and oh! For the next ones, I have a narrative ver for one of them. 

So, just wait. 

Happy chicken is... 

Eh? What's after the gaidens?

There's this rockin' horror game called Ib (seriously, that's it) and I'm really drooling for a character called Garry, since... 

YEA! IT JUST HAPPEN TO HAVE THE NAME OF A CLASSMATE!

Don't forget that the main character of Karakuri is also Garry. 

BUT! This Garry, since he's the only male character, is made to be someone real funny and cool and handsome and... and... 

I'll fight for the ending where Garry died! I will! I will! XD

(Garry= what?)

Yessss, I want that ending where Garry turned into a picture... (you can find this in zerochan, there's a lot of doujins about it)

SO! I'LL KILL GARRY AGAIN!

(Garry (ib)= NOOOOOOO *runs*

Garry (karakuri)=  Suffer the same fate with me, Garry! Come here! Come here!*chases like lady in red*)

Chicken= good! get him, Garry!

(Garry (ib)= NO! NO! LET GO OF MY COAT!

Garry (karakuri)= Yes! Now come! 

Chicken-san, make a fic with that 'forgotten portrait ending'! Now let's get going, Garry!

Garry (ib)= HELLLLLPPPPP)

So, happy chicken is happy~ (Garry... *wicked smile) expect another label called 'ib' okay?

1

1

         “Leopold!”

         A woman with blonde wavy hair opened an oak door and walked into the room. The room smelled a little… sweet – must be coming from that pack of chocolate cookies on the table – and a little bit… awful, must be from the clothes lying on the floor. She sighed silently and picked up a few clothes as she kept calling.

         “Leo, dear, where are you?”

         There was still no answer. But the woman didn’t seem to mind, though – she was walking out – who knows where she went – and came back into the room in less than a minute. She then started picking up toys from the floor as she looked around.

         “Come on, don’t play hide and seek now, dear.”

         There was still no answer. Whoever is hiding must be so good in the game. She sighed as he put them into a basket, then she walked to the door.

         “Too bad, I just made some gingerbread men and nobody can help me bake it… Maybe I should bake it myself and give it to that boy…”

         “Don’t!!!” A boy shouted as he crawled out from under the bed. The woman smiled playfully xas he ran to her and grabbed her long black skirt.

         “You won’t, maiiks, you won’t, will you?”

         “No, no,” the woman said as she messed the boy’s hair with a big smile. “Come on, help me bake the cookies.”

         Smile formed on the boy’s lips as he followed his mother out of the room. They then walked to another room, where a few pans of goodies were on the table, waiting to be baked. He took a pan as his mother took another, and they walked to the oven.

         “The gingerbread man won’t run away from the oven, will he?”

         “No,” she said with a smile. “But, if you don’t keep him in a box after he’s baked, he might run out and get eaten by a wolf…”

         Ah, folk tales. Kids used to fall for that.

         DING

         “Oh,” the woman quickly turned to the voice. “There’s a guest. Watch the cookies for me, Leo.”

         “Yes…”

         She walked out of the kitchen and arrived at a wooden door. Half of the door was not wooden, but glass, giving a view of the outside. For a while, she could only see the view of a familiar Moscow cold autumn, before then a man in military clothes appeared. He was wearing a thick shapka, but his brown hair could still be seen. She sighed silently and opened the door.

         “Felix.” There was a tone of dislike in that single word, but… who likes soldiers?

         “I’ve got some news, Georgia,” he said as he stepped in and took off his hat. “And I want to talk to you as…”

         “Georgia.”

         “Good,” he said with a smile. “If you don’t mind, maybe you can tell that agent will-be to keep watching whatever it is you’re cooking.”

         She quickly turned back, only to notice that the boy was looking at them. Of course kids get curious about everything – and they call it a ‘phase in growth’. What a disturbing phase.

         “Leo,” she said with a smile. “If you don’t watch the gingerbread men, they might run…”

         “Ah!” As said, kids fall for that. “Yes, I’ll watch them!”

         The boy disappeared back into the kitchen as he closed the door with a slam. To prevent the men from running, perhaps…

         “Fine.” No more curious ears means safety, no? “What news?”

         The man looked at her for a while, then he sighed loudly, exhaling white breaths, as he took out somethin from his thick jacket. A phone. He tapped the screen for a few times, then he showed it to her.

         “We’re also… feeling sorry, Georgia.”

         She took the phone and looked at whatever was on screen for a while. She then turned to the man again, her eyes as huge as a marble.

         “…”

         “Tomorrow,” the man said as he took his phone. “If you want to come. If you can’t stand it, don’t.”

~•~

         The next day…

         “Why?”

         A square faced robot covered the coffin with its black, heavy cover, then it rolled away. A man with black long hair was trying desperately to reach forward as the coffin was being lowered into the earth by two other robots, as if he wasn’t going to let it happen. Luckily two other men in black were holding him. Three other visitors were standing before the hole – a woman with short black hair, a man with chestnut hair, and a blonde woman. All of them were wearing black, and the two women were wearing a black dress. A typical scene at the graveyard.

         “Why?” he shouted again. “I haven’t beaten you, Jos!”

         “Dimitri!” the black haired woman shouted, unable to contain her wrath. “Stop that! You don’t have the right to stop the prossesion!”

         “But why?” The black haired man pushed away the two men and walked to the red haired woman. “Why? Tell me, Merlin! Tell me!”

         “Dimitri!”

         “That man!” the man pointed at the coffin. “Why? Why must he die? All because of Sergei! Sergei! I told the boss he shouldn’t have been in the mission…”

         “Shut up Dimitri!”

         He turned to the voice, that came from the young man with chestnut hair. A sad expression was worn on his face, however, no tears were shed on his face.

         “You think it’s only hard for you?” the man shouted. “It’s hard for everyone! At least…”

         He looked at the blonde woman standing next to him. She was looking down while holding a bouquet of white flowers – she looked so gloomy and a bit creepy. Dimitri looked at her, as well, and suddenly he could feel all the guilt coming back to him. He sighed loudly and kicked a small stone lying on the ground in anger. The red haired woman looked at the blonde woman, too, then she sighed and looked down as the coffin was being lowered down to the ground.

         Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, they say. Humans that were made of dust and ashes, will one day return back to the earth and return to their true form – dust and ashes.

         How frail, how frail humans are…

         “So don’t wait for me.”

         Is it wrong… to wait for you?
         The two robots who were just done lowering the coffin covered the coffin with the long white cloth they used to lower the coffin, then they took a shovel that was resting on the gravestone and started to close the hole.

         And along, open the door of sadness in everyone’s hearts…

         ‘Why? I haven’t beaten you yet, Joseph… why now?’

         ‘Did you even think about Leo back then, when the boss gave you the mission?’

         ‘Joseph, do you know how hard this must’ve been for Georgia…’

         ‘…’

2

2

         Moscow, 0900 hours

         It was just another peaceful day in the busy office, placed in the heart of the country. It was a place where all the mighty people come and do their work – dirty ones or not.

         But for trainees, doing dirty jobs are unnecassary. At least, that’s what their naïve ideology said. Some of them just sit around in the front, waiting for the others to come and they will handle their absent or sort.

         “Ah…”

         And today’s trainee could see a blonde man walking towards him with a woman in military clothes. Who cares who she was, knowing the man should be enough.

         “Ivan…”

         The blonde man quickly noticed his acquaintance sitting behind the absent desk, and crossed a finger on his lips. The woman turned to him, confused.

         “You two know each other?”
         “Eh… It’s not really that. I was testing him back then.”

         “Oh.” They arrived in front of the table and the woman put a thumb on a screen. A small LED lamp gave a green blink – she must’ve been identified. The trainee nodded slightly to her with a thin smile as she turned to him.

         “So Ivan tested you. Did you pass?”
         “Ah… yes,” the trainee said as he looked away, in fear to look at her eyes. Usually people do that for respect, or because they were facing someone very powerful.

         So the woman should be powerful.

         “Is he good, Van?”

         “Not bad for someone who didn’t come out from a military school,” Ivan answered. “A bit more training and he’ll be about my capability…”

         “Oh,” she said. “I was hoping that he’ll surpass you with a little training.”

         “…”

         She turned to the trainee, who was now afraid, and gave a smile before she walked away. Ivan quickly followed her until she showed him the back of her hand as she walked away. He quickly stopped and turned to the trainee.

         “Idiot!” The trainee quickly got something hard on his head from his senior. He quickly turned to him with a sour face.

         “What?”

         “You’ve misbehaved badly!” Ivan complained. “That woman, you don’t know who she is?”

         “Someone from here…”

         “That’s obvious!”

         Ivan grabbed his junior’s collar and started to shout on his face. As usual, juniors get abused, but this time for a different reason…

         “She’s a first rank agent, Georgia Polanski.”

         Oh. A first rank…

         Eh? Wait?

                                                   ~•~
         KNOCK KNOCK

         “Excuse me.” Georgia opened the heavy mahogany door and peeked in. She could quickly see a man with thin hair sitting behind a huge black oak desk. His face had some wrinkles, marking his journey in life, and a few strips of his hair lost their colour. Standing next to him was a younger man, but still old, who was pouring some coffee out of a metal jug. The old man quickly turned to her with a smile.

         “Ah, finally, Georgia,” he said as he stood up. His legs were still strong despite being rusted by age – must be the result of some training and excercises. “I’m expecting you.”

         “You want to see me, sia?”

         “Why, of course,” he said as he turned to his assistant. “Can you leave us for a moment, Felix?”

         “Yes.”

         The man nodded obediently and walked out of the room. Georgia entered the room and stood a few steps from the desk, in a very composed manner. He looked at her for a while, then he looked out of the window mounted just behind him. From there, he could see the streets of Moscow, which were growing empty as everyone was already at work. Georgia looked at him for a while, then she sighed silently. Waiting is always boring…

         “Something you want to talk about with me?”

         “Actually,” the man said as he glanced back at her. “It’s about Joseph.”

         “…”

         She quickly felt her heart flinced a little, but of course she didn’t show it at all. She kept her expressionless face as she smiled.

         “I’m all ear.”

         “You know, he’s a good boy,” the old man said with a slight sigh. “Very skilled, very fast, blends himself easily, very caring. The kind of perfect gentleman.”

         “Yes.”

         “That was why he got promoted so easily,” he said as he took out something from his pocket. “You remember when you were in the forest for the test with him? You were extraordinary, so was him and… who’s the other one?”
         “Vladimir Nekrósky.”

         “Ah, yes. Nekrósky.” He turned out to be taking out a long, thick cigar. He then took a lighter from the table and lit it. “I’m too old now – I can’t remember too many faces.” Yeah, and it should be thanks to his smoking habit.

         “Too bad, you’re the only one left.”

         “…”

         “How about each of us keep two of the doll, that way, we will always remember each other no matter where we are!”

         …Remember each other… huh?

         She could feel the emotion building up inside her, but she didn’t show it on her face. That’s what being an agent takes – you have to hide everything.

         “Is there anything else?”

         “Not really,” the old man said as he turned to her – finally. “There’s just a small favor I want to ask from you.”

         “Then…” She gave the best smile she could give at that time, even if she wasn’t feeling that great inside. “I’d love to help as much as I can.”

~•~

         KNOCK KNOCK

         “Giuseppe,” a blonde man called as he opened the door. “Am I being called?”

         “Why, yes, of course,” another blonde man said as he looked up to the man who just entered. “Marquis, sit down.”

         Marquis closed the door, then he sat down in front of a seemingly heavy desk. Giuseppe looked at the man sitting in front of him as he smiled.

         “Mission.”

         “Great,” Marquis said with a smile. “Leave it to me.”

~•~

         “Think about it, Georgia.”

         “Sa.”

         She closed the door and heaved a silent sigh of relief, but the relief didn’t last long.

         “Georgia.”

         “Oh,” she quickly turned, not showing any expression. AS if it was just something normal and not surprising, when any other person could’ve fainted from a heart attack. The brown haired man sighed and looked away.

         “Sheesh, I was expecting a better reaction…”

         “You want me to go ‘kyaaa’ or anything like that?” she asked with a cold voice. “Dream on.”

         The man gave her a cold look, then he shook his head with a sigh. Some women are sometimes, unbelievable scary, indeed.

         But, aren’t all women?

         “Not really. Just, maybe… a little talk.”

         “A bit talk?” Georiga looked at her workmate for a while, confused. This could sometimes mean as a trap, but women should be able to look through it. Sometimes there are things necessary to be talked about, after all.

         “Fine.”

         “A walk?”

         “Can you do it quickly?”

         “Fine,” he sighed as he took out something from his pocket. Perhaps she was still suspicious, even if there was really something to talk about. She watched him patiently as he searched for something in his jacket’s pockets, until he finally took out something.

         A doll. A small, small doll, no bigger than the palm of her hands, carved out of wood. It had the shape of a girl with straight brown hair, wearing a black dress. It didn’t take her long to notice what it really was.

         “A karakuri. What’s with that?”

         “A gift,” he said. “From Merlin and Dimitri.”

         She looked at it for a while, examining the details. Her eyes were painted black, and the lips were straight, giving it an impression of an expressionless doll. Like how dolls should be, right?

         “They should’ve given it themselves.”

         “If you’re wondering how frightful you are,” the man said. “That much, until Dimitri didn’t even dare to see you.”

         “Oh, really?” She took it from him and looked at it for a while. Perhaps the doll was being expressionless after all, but there was something she liked from it.

         Innocence… or to be precise, blankness. An unexplainable blankess, shining from the doll’s eyes. She gave a thin smile and grabbed it.

         “Give them my thanks.”

         “Of course,” he said as he turned to the door and opened it. “See you later.”

         “Later.”

         He opened the heavy door as she walked away, until he suddenly stepped back and turned to her. He must’ve forgotten something.

         “Oh, I almost forgot,” he said with a smile, happy to have remembered it. “They said, ‘don’t turn into one’.”

3

2

         “Stop that, Connie.”

         “I don’t care,” a fat man with black haired said as he fished for something in the bottom part of the vending machine. A blonde haired man who was standing behind him sighed and looked away.

         “You’ll get a heart attack one day.” An advice from a good friend…

         “I don’t care,” he said as he took out a Mars chocolate bar. He tore off the packaging and started eating. The blonde man moved forward and inserted a five-pound note in and pressed something on the vending machine.

         “I don’t understand why you don’t choose any other healthier food,” he said as they could hear some clanks. “Chocolate isn’t very healthy.”

         “Sometimes, eating what you like…” The fat man turned to his friend with a sad smile. “Is the best way to forget a few things.”

         “…” Sometimes, that is true and quite applicable, too.

         They waited for whatever the blonde man’s order was in silence, diving in deep into their thoughts. Those who were thinking shouldn’t be disturbed, after all.

         “Hey, Alan, Connor!”

         Oh, someone sure didn’t know about that rule.

         “Who?” The both of them turned to the voice and saw a man with blonde hair walking to them with a smile. A fake smile, like the kinds assasinators have, of course.

         “Marquis,” Connor said with a sigh. “What’s up, Mr. Cool Guy?”
         “Hey, I’m not,” Marquis said as he slapped the back of the other guy. “What are you guys doing, sitting here?”

         “Abi kicked us out, that’s what,” Alan said with a sigh. He then squatted and took out something from the hole, which turned out to be two cans. One of them was a can of coffee and another was a can of juice.

          “Which one’s for me?”

         “None.”

         “How cold.”

         “Well,” Alan said with a sigh. “Aren’t you, well?”

         “You’re only acting nice in front of Abi, aren’t you, Alan?” Connor asked. “But that’s understandable. Back then, Garry, too…”

         He suddenly felt a snap in his mind. He quickly stopped talking, and he could feel the chocolate melted in his right hand as he held it tighter. He suddenly found his mind at somewhere where it shouldn’t be – somewhere far away.

         “Sheesh, finally it’s over.”

         “W… what do you mean?”

         “Abi’s lecture. She’s the worst.”

         “Eh? But I thought you’ve worked with her for a long time…”

         “It’s called amazing if you can stand some five years with her. I’ve just been with her for two years and already going mad.”

         “…”

         “You know Giuseppe Spencer, right? I heard they worked together for some seven years before they were both given different squads to handle. I can’t imagine how difficult it must’ve been for him.”

         “…”

         “I hope I’ll get promoted soon, or if I die sooner, that’d be good!”

         “Eh? Don’t talk about death now, Garry…”

         “Well? Why not? If I die, I can always haunt her, you know!”

         “What’s wrong, Connie?”
         “No…” he shook his head weakly as he continued eating. “I just remembered… something.”

         The two men looked at him sadly. Of course losing a comrade was never something easy. In a few cases, it even took years until one can overcome the pain of it.

         But, there was no use. If just there’s something like a rewind button in life, perhaps it could’ve been easier…

         Well, isn’t that something everyone wishes for?

                                                   ~•~
         “I’m not in the working mood today.”

         A blonde, sturdy-looking man sighed loudly as he took off his contact lenses. He looked up to the ceiling of his dark workplace – it was darkened in purpose, so that the floating screen projections would look clearer. He looked at one of the green screens, where it was filled with white, pixel words, and sighed.

         “Good, Garry,” he said as he took a white mug. “I’ve been tracking you for months, and you’re nowhere.”

         He looked at the screens filled with words, that constantly changes every second. It was like looking at the stock’s prices fluctuations, but sadly, it wasn’t about money, but about something of more importance.

         The official report mentioned about your disappearance. But…

         He sighed and sat up, then he rolled his chair towards the keyboard sitting a few metres from him and started typing something. His eyes and behaviour changed – it was now a pair of ambitious eyes, desperate to find a result.

         Since then, they’ve been putting me in charge to rack you when I can.

         And now, I’ve been tracking you for months. All without a result.

         The official report only mentioned about you disappearance, but…

         The screen in front of him suddenly turned red, and he could see a small box with the word ‘Error 56’ in it. He sighed loudly and hit his fists to the table a few times in anger. He could feel the fire in him lit up and started to burn every aspect of him – his emotion, his feelings, his thoughts…

         “Why! Why! Why fifty-six?”

         Why? Why can’t I help myself to not come to the conclusion that you’re dead?

~•~

         “Abi…”

         “What?” A girl with blonde, messy long hair, turned to the door, and saw a fat man standing before the door.

         “Um… can we come in?”

         “Yes.”

         She looked out of the window again, to the Big Ben, which could be seen very clearly on that sunny day. The sky was really clear and the sun was bright – a typical summer where most people would go somewhere in their caravans. But whoever they are, she was not included, of course.

         The door clicked behind her, and she could feel the silence took over the room. Well, it was really uncomfortable, but…

         I want this… silence right now.

         “Have you got anything for us to do?”

         “Where’s Alan? I thought the two of you were together just now, Connor.”

         “Well…” Dammit, how can she sense it? “He was running a few errands.”

         “So who do you mean by us?”
         “Well, that…”

         “…”

         ‘There’s no use. Even if I keep remembering…

         Although they say people remain alive when they’re remembered…’

         “Tell Fred to find the doll instead.”

         “…Yes.”

         She let the silence took over for a little more while, then she could hear a click on the door. She sighed loudly and looked up to the sky, and…

         ‘“Hey, Abi.”

         “Whoa! What are you doing here so early in the morning, Daniel?”

         “Well, of course I want to give you a ride to the HQ, and… how about we have breakfast together?”’

         Before long, she found herself so deep, deep, in her thoughts, her past, her memories…

         ‘“How’s it going between you and Vlad?”

         “Just so so. What do you expect?”

         “Marriage.”

         “Oh, no, I’m not getting married and he agrees with that.”

         “Why? Mira Nekrósky does sound cool, no?”
         “Ah, that’s not how this world works, now, Abi.”’

         ‘…Why…’

         ‘“No mission? How boring…”

         “Well Garry, if you only look forward to fight, go work with someone else! Maybe you’ll suit in those kinds of criminal organization, who fights all the time…”

         “Oh, that sounds great!”

         “What? Shut the bloody hell up…”

         “Hahaha, I’m just kidding. Fine, I’ll be waiting patiently.”’

         ‘…Why… am I…’

         ‘“You’re not slacking off now, are you, Vlad?”

         “No, no, no! Why do you always think like that? I’m just going to do some research.”

         “What research, I know you’re gonna take Mira out.”

         “Ah, busted before the plan even started to roll!”’

         ‘Why am I… left alone?’

4

4

         “Li wants to meet.”

         “So sudden?”

         “What’s up, really?”

         “I don’t know.” A man with red hair sighed and looked away. “Let’s just roll.”

~•~

         “Li?”

         “Before we get to that, a covert company,” a grey haired man said with a sigh. “I’m not very sure what they does there, deep in the dark…”

         “I see.” Georgia rubbed her chin, the typical gesture of someone who was thinking. Even for someone who has worked at a specific for quite some time, in this case, spionage, it took time.

         “Name?”

         “Fifty-six, but of course…” He looked away. “Can’t Merlin crack a way in?”

         “It’s very difficult, Pieter,” she said with a smile. “And all we have is a codename. Maybe a real name would do.”

         The older man looked at her for a while, with a pair of cold, serious, eyes.

         “You know these kind of people have no name.”

         “…”

         She smiled gently and looked away. Of course the smile meant that she had another plan in her mind. The kind that would surely work.

         “Let’s decode the name ‘li’ then,” she said. “In Chinese, ‘li’ can mean a lot. So…”

         Must’ve been simple for someone who can speak five languanges.

         “The most common ones,” he said. “Hide a leaf in the forest, right?”

         “Right. The ‘li’ elementary students know can refer to strength, sharpness, and in, and…”

         “In?” The man raised an eyebrow, confused. “Swimming in the mud?”

         “Yes, that kind…” Not like she wasn’t troubled at all with the sentence. “In, inside…”

         “Into.”

         “No, that’s not ‘li’, that’s more like ‘jin chi’,” she said. “Inside, in Chinese, is ‘li mian’.”

         “I see.”

         “It can also mean…”

         “Stop, stop.” Pros are always different and difficult. “Which one do you think it refers to?”

         “Which one?” She looked down and rubbed her chin again, thinking. Decoding is never easy, unless you’ve once worked in Bletchley Park, or if you one worked with Mr. Holmes.

         “I don’t think… it refers to a certain meaning.”

         “Eh?”

~•~

         “Glad to see everyone here again.”

         “Hey, Li.”

         “Have you got orders for us?”

         “Orders, isn’t it…” A blonde man smiled wickedly as he put some tobacco leaves into a pipe, then lit it with a match.

         “What do you want to do right now, Daniel?”

         He turned to a man in the shadow, whose silhouette could be seen. He could see the silhouette turned to look at him for a few seconds, before disappearing away.

         “Let’s see…”

~•~

         “Your turn.”

         “Oh?”

         Marquis smiled and tapped the dice, which automatically rolled by itself. They waited for a few seconds, then the dice finally stopped rolling.

         “Ah!”

         “Hee-hee-hee…” the young man smiled as he saw his silver terrier ran across the monopoly board, and finally stopped at a place with a dark blue bar.

         “I’m buying it.”

         “…Whatever…”

         Giuseppe tapped on the dice and let it roll, and again, they waited… isn’t that all about monopoly, waiting for the dice to stop then move? And when it stopped, a silver steamboat rushed across the board – it’s just the looks that suggests it’s a steamboat, in fact it’s a speedboat – and stopped at a yellow box.

         “Go to jail?”

         “Ahhhh!” Bad luck, too bad…

         Marquis tapped the dice again and watched it roll. The two of them sat in silence – Marquis was praying for some more luck while Giuseppe was… really, thinking about something. Something quite serious.

         “Speaking of jail…”

         “…?”

         “There’s someone I think you should send to jail.”

         “…”

         Marquis chuckled a bit as he looked out of the window.

         “You’re saying that when you’re in jail? I know you want me to be in jail with you.”

         “No, I don’t mean this game…”

         “Oh…”

         He turned back to the screen, only to notice that his terrier has stopped at a box with red bar, and was barking at him.

         “So what do you mean? I’m buying this one too.”

         “Well, I mean it, Marquis.”

         He looked up to the younger man and smiled.

         “Work, of course…”

~•~

         “Mer? I brought along some tea.”

         “I know.” The black haired woman was looking at a green screen from behind her thick glasses, and she was typing very seriously. Or maybe… not really, since she still had time to talk.

         Or, maybe geeks have some split mind ability, so that they can multitask perfectly and quickly. Say, how can a single woman handle ten screens at once? Pros are always different and difficult…

         “You know, there’s some work for us.”

         “Work?” She took off her glasses and moved her head forward to a screen, then she continued typing. Sitting in front of the computer everyday causes eye problems, for sure. And, the room was dark thanks to being lighted by only a few yellow stage lamps and the screen were annoyingly bright. Must’ve been tiring for the eyes.

         “It’s not people hunting is it?”

         “Too bad it is.”

         “…Damn.”

         “I’m not done explaining yet.” She could hear the some water being poured into some other water, causing loud splashes. She could imagine how the table sitting next to the door in her room would’ve been rather wet…

         “We only have a codename, Li…”

         THUD

         “Mer?”

         Georgia turned to huge mahogany desk placed a few metres from her. The green screens were still on, but she could no longer see anyone managing it. No wonder there was no answer…

         “Mer?”

         The woman turned out to be lying on the desk, her jaws dropped and her eyes closed. Of course she couldn’t answer.

         “Mer?”

         Still no answer.

         Georgia sighed loudly and put a block of sugar into the white mug, then she looked away.

         “Ah, she’s dead…”

~•~

         “Someone that should be in jail?”

         “Yes.” Marquis opened a can of soda and sighed. “Boss is so annoying. He didn’t even give me a clue who that is…”

         “We do have a lot of multinational enemies, don’t worry,” someone behind a huge green screen answered. “And someone like you should be able to track them down.”

         “Who are they?”

         “Let’s see… Iran dan Irish terrorists, even British ones, yakuza, mafia, drug dealers, triads, criminal organizations…”

         “Stop, stop.” Listening to lists always causes headaches. “Who’s the most wanted? I think it’s just one.”

         “If you’re talking about archenemies, we do have Charles… something.” Marquis could see a hand tapped the screen behind him, without touching him of course, thanks to the well-developed screen technology.

         “This guy I'm going to tell you, is involved in a few conflicts with us.” A blonde man suddenly appeared from behind the green screen he's been hiding behind all the time, and smiled to his friend. “I heard, he's even behind the massacre in Calais two-three years ago, remember?”
         “...”
         Marquis could feel his mind travelled back to the past as he sipped some of his soda. Not like he could remember everything, but he hasn't forgotten them either...

         “Go visit Abi, Marquis.”

         “Huh? Why should I? After my leave?”

         “A few of her men were killed. Maybe you can cheer her up a bit.”

         “Aren’t you a bit better than me about that?”

         “Huh? Not really.”
         “Want to take a look at his papers? Oops, it's no longer used. It's now his files or documents, right?”
         Yeah, since paper were declared harmful to the environment...
         “Okay, can you borrow me his papers then?”