doggone

[repeatedprayer]

[In the time following his departure from Tabito and Manabu's company, the alias "Grey" has wound up sticking.

Not that everyone calls him that, he's used a few other aliases since then, but it's what he's wound up thinking of himself as. If Grey had taken the time to think about it a bit more he might have picked something with a little less connection to Rezo's name, but it's still leagues better than thinking of himself as "Rez- wait, no, just a copy." And maybe that's why he's felt significantly calmer since he left Sairaag.

By his own standards, Grey has been laudably well-behaved; sure, he's been mostly doing under-the-table psychic work, often on behalf of criminals, but! He's been trying to keep a low profile so it's usually things like clairvoyant spying rather than anything violent, and he's been making a point of not doing anything that directly impacts the galaxy railways.

It would be extremely awkward if Manabu Yuuki had to try and arrest him, after all.

He's found himself frequently thinking about Manabu, much to his annoyance. He has no serious expectations of ever seeing Manabu again, so it's simply a waste of mental bandwidth to find himself wondering what Manabu is doing right now or where he is, or to reminisince over their incredibly brief acquaintanceship. Grey can only suppose that because Manabu was the first reasonably normal person he got to know after leaving Sairaag that Manabu is going to stick out in his mind for a while.

And it's probably because of the real estate that Manabu is hogging in Grey's mind that he's been very aware of every mention of the SDF that crosses his path. He hasn't exactly been tracking the SDF's activities deliberately, but he does pay attention to the news and the SDF frequently winds up in there, even if Manabu's name in particular isn't normally dropped.

Until the day it does.

SDF Officer Taken Hostage By Pirates]

* * *

[It's taken several weeks of investigating, but Grey has been able to track down The Huntress's client, a Dr. Parish and associates. It must be a small galaxy, because Dr. Parish is someone Grey knows. Sort of.

Rather, Dr. Parish was a colleague of Rezo's who collaborated with the man on chimera research (and other unsavory things) in the past. Not only that, the man was an ardent admirer of Rezo's superior psychic prowess, and desperate to improve his own meager abilities.

He'd had quite a shock when Grey approached him in town, but after the initial surprise it had been sickeningly easy to convince Dr. Parish that he was the real Rezo. Grey can only surmise that the man wants to believe too badly to let himself be properly suspicious. It had only taken a day for Grey to be invited to tour Parish's laboratory.

The lab's located on the grounds of a former Marquess's estate, a ways out of town and secluded by trees, a high wall, and a long drive. Grey's done a little recon before, but actually being here is different, especially since he has to navigate by cane at the moment. Grey is doing his best to politely nod and smile as Parish guides him from room to room, explaining their work and occasionally handing him things to examine himself.

But evidently Parish realizes that "Rezo" isn't entirely interested, because he stops partway through an explanation of some stem cell experiments he and a few others have been working on to say "Of course, the really interesting specimens are kept in the basement floor."

Grey already knows this. He hopes his expression seems the right sort of eager.]

Interesting?

["Something along the lines of what we did in the past. Would you like to see them?"]

Nothing would please me more.

[Grey can practically hear Parish's delighted grin. To soothe the surge of irritation, Grey reminds himself that he's going to kill this man before the end of the day and allows Parish to guide him out into the hall and to the basement entrance at the back of the building.]

Comments

[siriusly]

Because killing people won't solve anything. It doesn't give us answers, and it doesn't give them the chance to be put to trial.

Besides, [now that his hands are free, he slowly turns and makes his careful walk back to the bed.] I'm not going out with the intention to hurt anyone. I mean to be as covert as possible, okay?

[repeatedprayer]

Killing people solves plenty of issues. Someone who's dead can't trouble you or anyone else any longer.

[Can't they? Grey certainly isn't troubled by any of the people he killed, so why should Manabu be?]

It's one thing to be covert, but sometimes it comes down to you or them. And you're not even giving yourself the option to make the right choice?

[siriusly]

I know that I have to survive, and I mean to. But I don't need a full-powered gun to do that, Grey. [he sits back down, scooting back to his spot, crossing his legs, and picking up the component again to finish cutting one of the wirings.]

The ones who died...escaped justice. They can't account for their crimes, or help us find out who else was complicit anymore. I'm not adding to that count if I can avoid it.

You shouldn't, either.

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey bristles, nearly snarling at the audacity of Manabu telling him what he shouldn't do. It doesn't help that Manabu's being so damned calm about this. Chiding Grey as if he were a child!]

They didn't deserve to live. And neither does anyone else involved!

[siriusly]

[he looks up, frowning hard.]

Even if they don't-- [which isn't their call!] --we still need to learn what they know. And the rest needs to be taken up the chain - that's how this works. Anything less, and nothing changes. Other people can pick up right where they left off, and the killing won't end. That's not good at all!

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey's scowl deepens, unable to come up with a good argument- hell, he even kind of agrees! He would like to take down the backers and strike a proper blow against the greater world of illegal chimera experiments, and killing a few random scientists and lackeys who are easily replaced isn't going to do that much in the long term. It's not really that part that he objects to.

It's merely that the thought of Manabu potentially getting overwhelmed by opponents, dragged back to a dark basement or getting discreetly killed and disposed of, makes his hands shake with fine tremors.]

Fine. We're still doing it your way. But if that useless gun of yours gets you killed, then I'll deal with the perpetrators however I see fit.

[So that's his "compromise:" If Manabu doesn't want Grey to kill anyone then all he has to do is stay alive himself.

Grey won't care nearly as much about the greater scheme of things if Manabu can't fit into it somewhere.]

[siriusly]

[despite the agreement, Manabu's face is still a bit hot, his heart beating faster. he remembers the blood. the screams.

his hand quivers with the work he's doing, prompting him to pause.]

I won't get killed. [he won't let Grey keep killing.] So even if that's your plan...it's just going to stay in your head.

[repeatedprayer]

That's up to you now, isn't it?

[Grey folds his arms and leans against the kitchen counter, glaring at the scattered pieces of the gun in front of Manabu. There's an impulse to go in and smack the components out of Manabu's hand, figure out how to reassemble the thing himself... But even if he did that Manabu would no doubt go ahead and defy him once his back was turned.]

[siriusly]

[there's a gentle snip - the cut of a wire. Manabu sets the knife down and blows the dust out.

he smiles over at Grey.]

Mostly! But I'm pretty determined.

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey's eyes widen briefly, then he shakes his head disconsolately.]

More's the pity...

[stupid idealistic bastard with your dumb smiley face

But as much as Grey would love to sulk about this, it wouldn't improve the situation much for him to indulge. He'll wait quietly for Manabu to finish putting the gun back together before telling him about the places he scouted while he was out.]

[siriusly]

[pity?! hey!!!

Manabu puts the gun back together with a practiced efficiency, hesitating only in places that don't feel as familiar or need to be done in a different sequence. he finishes by momentarily turning off the safety, listening for the electric whine of the charge...and then turning the safety back on. all set.

he sets the gun on the nightstand, scooting back toward the headboard and sitting up to listen to Grey's findings, his tail dangling over the edge and twitching thoughtfully.]

I imagine the more sensitive equipment is going to those storage units...but anything that might have identifying information will probably be in the places with higher security, like the school.

[repeatedprayer]

[The little bit of quiet at least gives time for Grey to push down his own unhappiness about the gun thing further, and once they're back to the business of investigation Grey's calm once more.

While Manabu sits on the bed, Grey comes a bit closer to lean against the wall nearby and listen to Manabu's assessment.

Grey considers Manabu's words for a moment, before quickly coming to his own conclusion.]

Then we should try investigating the school first. It's more important to get the identifying information while their guard's relatively down.

[Higher risk = higher reward, right?]

[siriusly]

[he nods.]

Is it a public or private school? [either way, there's sure to be restricted access in places...

[repeatedprayer]

It's a public university. Fairly busy too, by the look of things.

[So there'll probably be lots of (relatively) unrelated civilians running about on campus and complicating things.]

[siriusly]

Mn. Then...it'll be good to canvas it a couple times before zeroing in on the areas where the materials were moved into. We'd be looking for external data storage, so probably any medical or systems-specific wings... [he rubs his chin, thinking hard.

man. infiltration is great and all, but he's just not as tech-savvy as the Spica girls.]

...Hmh.

[a thought hits him and he reaches over to where the tablet's been resting, doing a search.]

There's a couple companies that the SDF has used as cover for these kinds of jobs; I wonder if any of them operate out here...I'd already have a verifiable ID to use, if that's the case.

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey nods along, having pretty much surmised the same thing- and then the next bit piques Grey's curiosity. His reserve is forgotten in favor of shuffling over to Manabu's side to look over his shoulder.]

What companies are those?

[...Possibly not information that Manabu wants to share with a self-admitted outlaw but hey, they are partners, right?]

[siriusly]

Classified. [obviously!

except this one time.]

This one, though... [Stratus Securities.] Looks like Ruvinagald has a chapter of an infosec group I have a cover account for. This might be useful...

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey makes a face, briefly, at the "classified." How dare u deny him knowledge.

Anyway.]

And you can still use it, even if you're MIA? [Grey's a little concerned that somebody might notice the account being used that belongs to said MIA SDF officer, and thus come investigate. Even if that somebody would be on Manabu's side, that still feels like a potential complication...]

[siriusly]

Mn. So long as I don't need to actually log into anything to prove it... [but if he did, that'd put them on the clock before the SDF caught wind.

he sets the tablet on his lap, looking at the ceiling.]

Only problem is not having the ID cards on-hand, so people would have to call the company and verify the name.

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey hums.]

It seems potentially risky- [Especially if Manabu's going to be trying to infiltrate in person.] -But might be worth trying if we can't find other ways around their security.

[He glances down at the tablet in Manabu's lap. Stratus Securities... He should remember that name in the future, so he can keep avoiding the SDF after all this.]

[siriusly]

[he nods, closing his eyes with a sigh. more physio...

but wait--

he looks over to Grey.]

Did you want me to color your hair today?

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey blinks. Ah yes, they did talk about that the previous day, didn't they?]

...As long as you feel up to it, then yes.

[That sigh might have indicated tiredness. Grey's a little wary of letting Manabu mess with his hair if he's tired- or really, of doing this at all. It feels like a more dramatic change than just buying new clothes.]

[siriusly]

[if the sigh seemed troublesome, Manabu perking up at the notion of a task obliterates any assumption of tiredness.]

I can do it! [he scoots to get up, catching himself before he can just blindly lunge to his feet and give himself a mini-blackout. slow...annoyingly slow!

once he's up, his tail swishes confidently.]

Gimme the box! Let's figure this out.

[what a good montage this will be.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Okay but the enthusiasm is possibly more frightening than the idea of Manabu being tired and Grey startles a little at how Manabu perks up. Why does that face and confident swishing give him such a sense of foreboding?]

...Right. Let's do that.

[Swallowing his misgivings, Grey goes to retrieve the box from the bathroom.

Cue hair dye montage from a coming-of-age movie. Grey makes Manabu read the instructions a few times because he does not trust Manabu "Falls asleep in class" Yuuki not to try and just wing it before they open up the box and assemble the equipment. A few bottles come out, along with a flimsy pair of gloves, a brush, and some written instructions that Grey again makes Manabu read a few times just in case.

The next step is for Grey to change into a shirt he's willing to potentially sacrifice, and pick out a towel that might as well be ruined also. (Grey doesn't bother shooing Manabu out of the room when he changes shirts, so enjoy that, Manabu.)

The bathroom, cramped as it is, is picked out for the makeshift salon, and before too long Grey is squatted on the shower stool, towel wrapped around his shoulders, basin full of hair dye beside him, and Manabu Yuuki there to work his best artistic skills upon Grey's hair.

Willing himself to sit as still as possible, Grey says:]

...Well, I'm ready.

[Kinda.]

[siriusly]

...

[there was nothing weird at all about admiring people's backs before, right? yet now, Manabu feels a little weird catching himself admiring Rezo's bare back from his spot on the bed rather than reading the instructions from the box like he was supposed to.

back on track, Yuuki.

he clears his throat, going back to reading instructions and plucking the plastic gloves out of the box.]

Mix with water, apply evenly, sit thirty minutes, rinse... Seems simple enough. [Well, I'm ready.] Uoh, mn, okay. Just gimme a second!

[more than a second, honestly, but it's not too long before he walks himself into the bathroom, gloved and ready to work.]

The water was a little cold, but it should be okay, right? I'll get started, then...