To thine own self
by Ainzfern
9
"Look!" Riki's voice contained profound frustration as he pulled in another deep breath and tried once more to confront one of his worst nightmares.
A bureaucrat with a fuckin' clipboard...
"I don't know how many times I have to tell you," he continued, fighting the urge to just punch this supercilious citizen asshole right in the face, "I am Iason Mink's registered Companion and I am asking you to let us into that room!"
The hospital official barring his and Katze's way gave Riki one more offensively slow once-over with his eyes before sighing again. "Honestly, the stories that you Pets come up with get more elaborate every day." He pointed once again to the end of the hallway, his voice dripping with affected boredom. "Pets of patients are to wait in the designated area until their owners are released," he repeated in a sing-song voice for the umpteenth time.
"I'm actually going to kill you," Riki murmured thoughtfully. "I can go to jail. I don't care. It'd be worth it."
"Riki," Katze's hand gripped his shoulder firmly. "Let it go," he smiled grimly. "Iason will be here shortly, and this little turd will change his tune."
The 'little turd' sniffed disdainfully at them once more consulting his clipboard. "Pets of patients are to wait- -"
"Yeah! The designated area!" Riki shouted suddenly, "I fuckin' heard you the first time!"
"Hmm," a rich velvet voice spoke from just to one side of him as a warm jacket slid over his shoulders. "...And I, sadly, only arrived in time to hear the last repetition."
In front of Riki, the hospital official has just blanched in horrified realization, his eyes bulging.
Sighing with relief, Riki looked over his shoulder into a beautiful face. "Iason," he smiled gently. "Thank God you're here. How's Dane?"
"Shaken, but otherwise unharmed," Iason replied, rubbing Riki's upper arms soothingly. "There is a detachment of my personal security forces outside the apartment, so I felt reasonably content to leave him in charge of the glaziers."
Riki blinked, even as he heard Katze's soft snort of strained amusement. "You managed to get glazier's out to our place at this time of night?"
Iason shrugged. "Do I need to remind you of who I actually am?"
"Ah." Riki shrugged amiably. "Of course. Actually, with that in mind..." he nodded at the trembling official. "Would you do the honors?"
"Certainly," Iason faced the official, his pale eyes making an obvious show of noting the man's ID badge before narrowing dangerously. "Move," he hissed harshly.
Stumbling in his haste to obey, the official did so.
Entering the treatment room, Riki's eyes were immediately drawn to Raoul; sitting, with his shoulder bandaged and a profoundly disgruntled look upon his patrician face, on the edge of his hospital bed. Perhaps it was because Riki happened to be looking so closely, he would reflect later, that he noted the first person Raoul sought with his eyes was not Iason, but Katze. And he would also swear that he clearly saw some unnamable tension suddenly leave the Blondie's shoulders when he met the red-head's concerned gaze.
"Iason," Raoul heaved a great sigh, turning his face to his Elite friend, "would you be so good as to arrange my immediate release?"
Almost unconsciously sliding one arm around Riki's lean waist, Iason nodded at his agitated friend. "I have already done so," he replied calmly. "Your driver is waiting at the hospice entrance, ready to take you back to Eos Tower." Iason released Riki and stepped towards the bed, his face clearly showing his relief at the fact that his friend was going to recover. "Are you truly all right, Raoul?" he asked quietly, his voice lowering.
Raoul smiled at him, his eyes once more flicking towards Katze. "I am perfectly fine," he assured Iason in warm voice, "But weary, I will admit."
"Understood," Iason nodded, reaching out to help his friend rise from the bed. "Katze?" he asked, turning his pale eyes on his ex-Furniture. "Would you accompany Raoul back to his apartment?"
Nodding silently, Katze moved into place beside the wounded Elite. "Of course," he murmured, his expression carefully composed, as Raoul slowly straightened and made his way to the door of the treatment room with the ex-Furniture hovering right beside him.
Riki carefully smothered a grin.
As he watched the rather striking pair leave, Riki chuckled softly. "Okay... so it took an assassination attempt to wake those two up," he murmured, glancing at Iason with wicked eyes. "Could've been worse."
Iason sighed deeply as he turned to look at Riki, an exasperated frown on his face. "It certainly could have been, Riki," he replied seriously, his eyes darkening with sudden anger. "Tell me... do you have any idea what might have brought this incident about?"
Nodding, Riki vented a quiet sigh, resting one lean hip against the edge of the medical bed. "Yeah." He chewed his full lower lip thoughtfully for a moment. "The last file I broke for Katze was a United Industries network list. Just like the previous four files that I'd cracked for him."
Iason's eyes narrowed. "I see."
"From what I've observed myself, they've been making some pretty aggressive attempts to cut in on Katze's territory," Riki shrugged sharply, his own face darkening. "Looks like, tonight, they decided to just go for broke and eliminate the competition."
Iason stepped close to Riki, reaching out to grasp the younger man's shoulders. "You neglected to tell me just how serious Katze's position was becoming," he said softly, his expression growing bleak. "And... just how exposed you, personally, were to that danger."
"I didn't know, Iason," Riki curled his hands around Iason's forearms. "I swear... I didn't know it would come this close to home."
"Well, it did." Iason's jaw clenched suddenly, the depths of his upset clearly visible. "It was a matter of moments, Riki."
"I know."
"Had I been but a few minutes later arriving at our apartment, you would have been killed."
Riki shuddered slightly with the memory of that cold blade against his vulnerable neck. "I know, Iason. Believe me, I know."
"So..." Iason stepped back, composing himself again, his hands sliding from Riki's shoulders, "You suspect Untied Industries was behind this attempt?"
Riki nodded somberly. "I can't think of anyone else who would have reason to try this." He frowned slightly, another memory suddenly occurring. "Did you manage to get anything out of the men who attacked me?"
Iason huffed a mirthless chuckle. "The man who survived, you mean," he corrected softly.
Riki blinked. "The other two died?"
"They did." Iason's expression held not even the tiniest hint of regret over that fact. "The remaining assassin is currently under guard at the civilian hospice in Midas," Iason's eyes narrowed. "I will be speaking to him tomorrow."
Suppressing another shudder, Riki nodded. He didn't really want to know what the content of the 'conversation' Iason planned to have with the remaining assailant might entail. Despite of how uncomfortable Riki might feel about his Blondie's methods in this regard, he knew that the Elite had a definite point. The fact was, the man was part of a team that had broken into Iason Mink's home; had attempted to murder his Companion, and had managed to shoot his best friend, who also just happened to be the second in command of the Tanagura Syndicate.
Quite frankly... all things considered, the as-yet unknown man and the people who had sent him, had brought this upon themselves.
"I think that you should probably get in touch with Chey as well," Riki added thoughtfully, pushing all thoughts of 'persuasive logistics' out of his mind. "I'm sure that he'd have a pretty comprehensive file on the key players of United Industries." He grinned suddenly. "After all, he's been in competition with them himself in the past."
Iason nodded curtly, his face filled with deep thought. "I will also have Katze pull his computer transcripts for the last few months. I think that it is about time he and I had a serious meeting about the current situation of the Ceres market."
Riki moved in close to the still coldly furious Elite, easing one arm around his tense back. "Don't be too hard on him, okay?" he said gravely. "There's no way he would have expected them to trail us so easily. If anything, the person to blame for this is me. Obviously, I didn't cover my tracks well enough."
"Riki..." Iason lifted one elegant hand, gripping the mongrel's jaw gently. His eyes were somber as he met Riki's gaze. "I want you to stop hacking files for Katze from this point forward."
Riki stiffened slightly. "Iason..."
"Please," Iason pressed, his rich mouth curving into a wan smile. "If for no other reason than the sake of my nerves... do as I ask in this instance."
"Okay," Riki heaved a sigh, nodding reluctantly. "No more hacking. I'll just stick to decoding on already downloaded files, okay?"
Iason nodded. "Agreed."
Riki stroked his hand down Iason's forearm. "You ready to go home?"
"I am." Iason released Riki's chin and straitened up to his full height. "I drove here myself so I will follow behind you."
"Then I'll try not to speed."
Iason shot him a look that spoke volumes. "Just go," he muttered, pointing at the door of the treatment room.
Smirking, but wisely staying silent, Riki did.
Stepping out into the cool air on Raoul Am's balcony, cold beer in hand, Katze had to admit that, although it was nowhere near as large or as high as Iason's, the view was still rather stunning. Raoul's apartment in the upper-middle levels of Eos Tower had a northern facing, affording him an unparalleled view of the north sector of Tanagura and the low misty mountain ranges beyond the city limits.
Of course, the fact that it was nighttime certainly limited what he could see right at this moment, but even so, the lights of the city were still beautiful. From this distance, Katze could almost believe that the world out there was truly all about aesthetics, that there was no danger always lurking in the wings. That there was no pain, no heartbreak... that nothing could touch him.
Raoul could have died tonight.
The fact that the shot was apparently meant for Katze really seemed immaterial.
Stepping forward slowly, Katze approached the ornate balcony railing, setting his drink down on the flat edge as he stared up into the night sky. The moons of Amoi were waning already, moving across the sky to make space for the sun that would rise in just a couple of hour's time. As always, he nodded to them, a faint smile on his face.
He'd always felt a strange kind of kinship with those celestial bodies. They were so remote; distant and untouchable. Not so much unlike himself, really.
Or, at least, not so unlike the self he used to be...
He heard a soft footfall approaching from behind and he turned slightly, watching as Raoul moved up to stand beside him, a glass of wine held in his free hand. The other was currently braced against his broad chest, strapped up within the sling that supported his arm and reduced the strain on his wounded shoulder. Katze was infinitely glad to see that Raoul had changed his clothes, his Furniture, Mika, obviously assisting him to strip off the bloodstained garment he had been wearing and replace it with a soft, warm sweater of fine cashmere instead.
They stood in silence for some time, each man looking up at the night and contemplating their own personal thoughts before Katze sighed aloud, turning his scarred face to look up at the graceful lines of Raoul's profile. "Hell of a night, huh?"
Raoul snorted softly. "Indeed it was."
Katze bit his lower lip for a moment and averted his face, his eyes closing painfully as a myriad of emotions suddenly washed through him. "You could have been killed, y'know."
He sensed, rather than saw, Raoul looking at him. "This is true."
Opening his eyes, Katze lifted his face again and met Raoul's gaze. "You saved my life."
Raoul remained silent, his expression giving away very little in the night's shadows.
"Why did you do that?" Katze shook his head, the question that had been on his mind since Raoul threw him to the floor in Partia voicing itself at last. "Why?"
Raoul shrugged briefly, his entire bearing indicating that he was struggling just as much as Katze was right now. "Many reasons, I suppose," he answered at length. "I did it because it was instinctive; because I was less likely to be seriously harmed than you were...and," he sighed softly, his voice lowering, "because I care."
Katze felt a suspicious burning behind his eyes, a certain tightening in his throat. "You do?"
"Yes." Raoul reached out and turned his glass around once or twice almost absently with his long fingers. "It's illogical, I know. It's not something that I would ever have imagined as being remotely possible, but yes... I care a great deal."
Swallowing hard, Katze glanced once more at the twin moons above him. "I've never had anyone say that to me before," he admitted softly. He smiled sadly. "I've never had anyone in my life even come close to saying that to me."
"This saddens me," Raoul's tone was deeply thoughtful.
Katze felt his eyes widen slightly in wonder, even as the next sentence formed up in his throat. "Never imagined that there was anyone out there that might take a bullet for me."
"Surely Iason..."
"No," Katze shook his head with utter certainty. "Iason would absolutely die for Riki... But not for me."
Peripherally, he saw Raoul move a little closer to him, his beautiful face turning to look directly at him. "I suspect that Riki would easily choose to give his life for Iason too," he murmured.
"Yeah," Katze felt his face crease into a tiny grimace. "He's done it before, after all."
"Truly."
To his complete surprise, he felt Raoul's uninjured arm slip gently over his shoulders. Instinctively he stiffened, resisting the touch, the beguiling warmth. Then slowly, breathing deeply, he found himself leaning into it, almost unconsciously moving sideways, seeking the comforting contact of the Blondie's solid body.
Venting another deep exhalation, Katze shrugged again. "I just... I always figured I'd never have a single friend that would step into the firing line for me," he said again, as if he still couldn't quite believe it.
"Well, you have one, Katze," Raoul murmured, warm assurance coloring his voice. "You have one."
"Yeah," Katze rested his head almost hesitantly against Raoul's shoulder, "Yeah, I guess I do."
They stood together for a long time, not speaking, just quietly watching the night ease its way towards dawn, absorbing each other's presence in comfortable silence. And if he were ever to be asked about it, Katze would have to admit... it was one of the most satisfying moments he had ever experienced in his life.
To thine own self – chapter 8 << >> To thine own self – chapter 10