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Karin had long since fallen asleep, mouth hanging open and the candles by her bed still flickering. Aiko sat in the near-darkness of her own room, knees up to her chest. The last few days had been hard. Not quite as hard as her one day with Naruto before he had left again for what would probably be a two year trip. The thought made her incredibly miserable. They had missed their birthday while he had been gone, so they had bumbled their way through an incredibly depressing birthday lunch, avoiding the conversations they should have had.
'Not entirely sure there's anything to say, anyway.' Aiko knew her brother inside and out, and he had a similar read on her. They both knew damn well that they were not going to enjoy the long separation, but there was no way to know how they would cope with it. They'd never been apart for longer than a few weeks while Aiko was on missions.
Aiko still wasn't in her right mind, frankly. If anything, she was getting worse. When she had first woken up, she had been disoriented and had managed to block out the trauma from the extended genjutsu. She had only begun to remember when she went to sleep again, waking up shrieking and sweating.
'At least I 'met' Jiraiya before they left this time,' she half-groused, half meant in seriousness. He had given her the strangest look- as though she wasn't what he had expected or something. He had been exactly what she expected, though, both from her foreknowledge and the uncomplimentary description provided by both boys. (Surprisingly, for once Sasuke had been just as vocal in his displeasure as Naruto). She had made the calculated decision not to tell either one of them that she actually read his books just yet.
Every night that she went to sleep, things just got worse. Unluckily, the night terrors hadn't really become an issue until after the second of her counseling sessions was done—the first day, she had barely been affected at all, and when she had checked back in on the fourth day, she was just starting to feel worn down.
Paranoia was a shinobi virtue, up there with 'stealth' and 'moral flexibility', but she had become so jumpy that it was getting hard to function.
'I wonder how sensei is doing. Is he having dreams like this?'
Kakashi-sensei had snapped so far back into his 'normal' behavior that she was caught between thinking it had to be an act or that he had gotten some really excellent drugs. Really, the only difference was that he was now pushing her much harder than he ever had before in training. (Then again, he'd never been able to be solely focused on her training, so the assessment may not have been fair). It had only been about a week and a half since the two of them woke up in the hospital. He had viciously leapt into improving both of their physical condition after their deterioration in the hospital, and then into working to improve rapidly. His sudden drive, now that she thought about it, probably meant that he was angry with himself about losing that fight so easily. A man who had made ANBU before he had stopped growing probably had not been concerned with drastically improving his conditioning in a long time.
'Then again, his casual, emotionally removed attitude was probably always an act to some extent.' Moonlight played with shadows through the trees outside her window and she shivered. Aiko unfolded her legs and dug out an old sweater, quietly slipping out of the house and into the night. Too late she realized her legs were still bare, but she stubbornly kept to the rock path through the backyard, trying to find enjoyment in the cool night air. It was utterly impractical for a shinobi to freeze up at the sight of the moon. A lot of her work was done at night. She had to get over it.
Her best assessment was that she now had a sliiiight tendency to get twitchy at the moon and a bit of insomnia. If she couldn't work through it on her own, she would go back to the hospital to talk to Shizune, she decided. But that wasn't her biggest worry.
She didn't remember most of her time in the Tsukyomi. There was no way to know what she had told Itachi. Karin might be in danger. She could have shared anything about Konoha's current state of political unrest or personnel (what little she knew, anyway).
Logic managed to calm most of those concerns—Itachi was loyal to Konoha. Even if he found out anything he couldn't through other channels (unlikely, as he was a resourceful person) he would be unlikely to misuse the information. If he knew about Karin, he would probably also find out that her power was unique and couldn't be used against him normally. Even if he didn't, the fact that he had not killed her when he easily could have indicated that he was willing to risk a possible threat to live. He was a bit of a soft touch.
Was Itachi enough of a soft touch to do absolutely nothing about any precognitive knowledge he may have gotten from her? She could have said anything in those seventy-two hours of pain. There was always the hope that he would have taken any shared information as the ravings of someone willing to say anything…
Putting all her hope on that rather unlikely outcome put a sick feeling in her gut. From what she knew, he was a nearly unrivaled professional and would have easily been able to get her to confirm information he would have known.
"There's nothing for it," she sighed. Aiko bent her legs and jumped all the way up onto a nearby home, using it as a bouncing pad to bound up to the higher levels of roofs that comprised the ninja speedway across town. 'May as well start training early. I'm not going to get back to sleep.'
~~~
In as far back as any of the recent Konoha graduates could remember, the streets had never been so full. The older generation, on the other hand, remembered a day even grander, before the Kyuubi had leveled half the village and when the population was considerably higher. Even festival days (rare as they were in a military village) paled in comparison. The spectacle was ridiculous—someone had managed to locate a sheet big enough to cover the new head on the mountain (produced by some doton master in a downright shockingly short period of time), all the civilians were in formal clothing while every active duty nin in the village wore their actual uniform for once, and candles burnt on every windowsill in contrast with the quickly setting sun.
The crowd jostled excitedly when the figure finally appeared on the balcony of the main administration tower overlooking the largest street, civilians screaming wildly. Most of the soldiers were more disciplined, but some of them were jumping up and down as well… especially when the Third hobbled up to stand at Tsunade's right, slightly behind her and waving reservedly.
Her speech was pretty standard stuff, concluding with the enormous sheet cascading off the mountain to reveal her face in a predictable theatric display. At least Aiko thought so, but the crowd really went wild for it. She rolled her eyes slightly, but clapped along good-naturedly. They had reason to be happy, she supposed, even if they were total saps to think that the pleasantries she was giving really meant much. They were just the sorts of things that politicians said. But Tsunade was a pretty damn stand-up person. She'd do alright.
Never particularly fond of crowds, she snuck away as soon as she possibly could without causing scandal. Above the crowd, Tsunade was similarly impatient to get back to the conversation she had been having with her predecessor and sensei, feeling her face start to hurt from the downright unusual smile she had been holding. The expression had come naturally for once—despite being a habitual grump, she had felt the crowd's exhilaration.
It slid right off her face when the balcony doors were safely closed and the office darkened. She found her way behind her new desk, waiting until Sarutobi managed to seat himself until she steepled her fingers in front of her face and gave him a stern, demanding expression that she had never had reason to give her old superior. "Now. What was it you were saying about information I had to have if I was really going to take the job?"
A muscle twitched in his neck, and the third Hokage felt his age settle around his shoulders again. "Only a few are privy to the darker parts of Konoha's history. I had hoped that these secrets would die with me, but my old friend Danzo…" he shook his head slowly. "has been causing trouble. Do you remember that in my first term as Hokage, not long before Minato's appointment I found out about his secret force within the ANBU?"
She waved a hand. "Vaguely."
He cleared his throat. "Yes, quite. I had it dissolved, but I have recently had cause to believe that he did not follow my orders. I let it slide longer than I should…"
"Damn right you did!" she snapped, scowling. "That's treason. You should have had his head! Are you telling me that a traitor has his own military faction? You are certain?"
"Yes…" Sarutobi tightened his grip on his walking stick, not appreciating her tone. His response was a little harsh. "Things are not so simple as you seem to think. Not only does Danzo have a great deal of respect and power on his own, but he has the support of the small council."
She gave him a slow blink in reply, unimpressed behind her folded fingers. "Koharu and Homura have been supporting a traitor?"
"They're my teammates," he protested, not liking where this was going. "They have provided guidance to the village for longer than you've been in service, my dear."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously, but for now she didn't comment. "Is there anything else I need to know? Any other dangerous secrets that might come around to haunt me?" Her words were almost mocking, but she was clearly serious.
He closed his eyes slowly. He had never wanted to share this particular shame with anyone, and if her reactions so far were any judge, Tsunade would not be pleased. With a failure like this in his past, did he really deserve forgiveness?
"What do you know about the Uchiha massacre?"
She blinked, surprised. "That was almost five years ago. I was long gone from the village. All I know is that some clan prodigy snapped and killed everyone but the little grump who came with Jiraiya to drag me home."
He exhaled slowly, looking away. "Concise, but not exactly correct. Uchiha Itachi was not and is not 'snapped,' as you so diplomatically put it. He executed the Uchiha clan on orders from Danzo."
The resulting "WHAT?!" broke through the silencing seals and insulated door separating the civilian secretary from the conversation. She jumped so suddenly that her elbow managed to knock over the bottle of ink on her desk, ruining the top papers she had been working on with the new schedule.
Back inside the office, Tsunade was white with fury. "Are you insane?" she roared, now standing straight up behind her desk. Her old mentor stared back at her with a practiced calm that she now thought looked a lot like an indication that he wasn't quite all there. "Why the hell isn't that man in custody?"
"The Uchiha were planning a coup," he explained calmly. "The extermination was planned as a last resort, but he gave the order too soon. By the time I knew, it had already been done. Uchiha Itachi is and always has been loyal to Konoha. His only request was that I keep his brother safe. I have done my best to ensure that. Itachi is now serving undercover in what seems to be an extremely dangerous organization of high-class missing nin."
She sat, feeling a rush of chemicals flooding her brain. Tsunade vaguely recognized she was in shock. Rubbing at her face, she searched for the appropriate words to explain what she was thinking. "Do you know why he jumped the kunai?"
Sarutobi's face tightened. "Danzo disagreed with my assessment that the situation could be resolved through other means."
"Of course he did." The youthful-looking blonde suddenly felt far too old to be taking up this job. "Sensei, what the hell are you thinking? That man, along with anyone who supports his treason, needs to go.' Tsunade hung her head quietly, swallowing hard. She had grown up hating the Uchiha. As a member of the dwindling Senju, it was almost a litmus test. But this… this was far more monstrous than the sick tragedy of a boy inured to horror far too soon killing his family in a fit, as she had thought was the case. The thought that her village had condoned this made her want to run right back out the gates and never come back. She had left because she felt this place was a death trap. Learning that her sensei had covered up this monstrosity for almost half a decade… a muscle twitched in her jaw. This didn't inspire confidence.
'No more,' she decided silently. The Third Hokage sat quietly, awaiting the tongue-lashing he knew was coming. 'I don't care that he doesn't want to publically shame his old friends. They have to go. Every last one of them.' She eyed her sensei, the man who she had respected. No more. 'He… it's a good thing I hadn't actually announced that I was planning on putting him on my new council.'
Instead of raging, her voice was ice. To a man who knew her, the disdain and anger were obvious. "It is long past time that the small council is replaced with more capable advisors. They were appointed almost fifty years ago, after all. Danzo, Koharu, and Himura will all be removed from their positions in the village hierarchy and replaced. You are going to help me make that happen with every last bit of power and support you have, or I will have this travesty made public and them all burned as traitors. That may still happen if they fight against their retirements. I am being merciful. If the clans knew about this, far worse would happen."
His jaw worked silently for a long moment. He had expected a lot of things, but that wasn't one of them. "That's impossible," he protested. "Such a thing has never been done!"
"The village is only what, four generations old," she pointed out coldly. "We aren't exactly talking about ancient traditions. Besides, this is a military dictatorship answerable only to the Daimyo. Do not think to tell me that something cannot be done."
Sarutobi slumped back in his chair, confounded by the logistics of what he had just been ordered to do by his Hokage (and at this moment, she was definitely his Hokage instead of his student). "We could ask them to retire," he suggested weakly.
She raised one eyebrow condescendingly. "And risk them resisting?"
"You could threaten them as charmingly as you have me," he said rather waspishly. Tsunade looked completely unrepentant.
"That's one option," she decided. "I don't like it, but it is noted. Anything else?"
"How does anyone ever get removed from power?" Sarutobi's fingers itched for his habitual pipe. "We make them want to leave, we remove their support by undermining their credentials or swaying opinion to a more suitable candidate, or we ensure that they are incapable of continuing." He frowned. "I do, of course, not recommend the last option."
"It's not off the table yet," she muttered darkly. With a flare of chakra, she turned off the privacy seals keeping the office locked away. As if summoned, an ANBU guard flickered into the room. "Go bring me Nara Shikaku and ANBU turtle," she said briskly.
Sarutobi protested vocally, holding up a hand. The ANBU actually stopped for a moment, reflexively obeying the Hokage he had served under all his life until now.
"I said go!" Tsunade barked. As the masked man left, she leveled a look at her old sensei that implied he was shit under her sandals. "You do not give orders to my ANBU," she purred dangerously. "Nor do you get to decide with whom I share information. I have been removed from village politics for almost a decade. I need a view I can trust." She leaned forward, eyes glittering. "Clearly, I cannot trust your judgment. You should have stayed retired the first time."
He had no reply for that particular bit of bluntness.
"You will remain while I explain the situation, just in case there is anything else that needs to be cleared up. Then you will be dismissed. I shouldn't have to remind you that you are strictly forbidden to utter a word of the discussion that happened in this office, but apparently you need to have the obvious spelled out with small words. I would suggest that you go straight home, as you will be accompanied by an ANBU I trust who will be under orders to immediately eliminate anyone that you breathe a word of this matter to." She gave him a cool smile that was distinctly devoid of any friendliness. He bowed his head to her judgment. It was her job, now.
When the two that had been summoned were both in her office (Turtle had been working with his genin team and had needed to change out of his leotard), Tsunade dismissed the other ANBU but gestured for Turtle to stand in the corner while she re-activated the privacy seal. It was most unusual, but neither man seemed to bat an eye.
Until the shame-faced Third Hokage got to the grand revelation, that was. He outright flinched away from the shocked horror on one of his most trusted follower's faces and the uncharacteristic stiffness in Turtle's posture.
"Shit," Shikaku cursed, running his hands through his hair in a stressed gesture. "Shit. I can't—this is all true?" At the nod of confirmation, he let loose a string of curses that practically dyed the air blue. "Why… Why are you telling me this? This knowledge could tear Konoha apart. If the clans knew that not only had the council approved genocide, but that the man who went behind your back to give the order not only escaped punishment but remained in a position of power for five years after the fact, there would be riots in the streets. There should be riots in the streets!"
Tsunade smoothly cut in for the first time since she'd prodded Sarutobi to start talking. "So that you can help me figure out how to get every last one of those bastards out on their ears," she hissed, just as angry. "ANBU Turtle, your current assignment is to shadow the former Hokage." Her lip curled. "This is both for his protection, as I assume he will be invaluable for fixing this massive fuckup, but to ensure that he does not speak a word of what was discussed here to any of his old friends, since apparently his judgment is far past questionable. You will be relieved by Wolf. Report back to me as soon as you have been relieved."
Turtle bowed deeply.
Tsunade gave her former mentor a scathing look. "Now you get the hell out of my office. I don't want to look at you."
A hysterical bubble of laughter escaped the Nara after Sarutobi left, impassive but shamed. "I just… shit. I can't believe this. The highest level of our government is filled with traitors." He paced in place, the infamous Nara intellect working full-tilt. "This isn't going to be easy, you know." Then he frowned. "Actually, with old dogs like these, easy might be the best way to go. All three of them are schemers. Publically announce their retirements and replacements and don't give them a chance to refute anything. None of them are likely to make a scene."
"They aren't likely to give up either," she pointed out darkly. "The two council members may well be loyal enough to stand down. But they may also see this as the act of a dictator and believe that the loyal act would be to oppose it. That's even excluding the possibility that they have gotten used to power and privilege. Danzo, on the other hand…" she trailed off, shaking with fury. "is definitely power hungry. He attempted to get inaugurated as the fifth Hokage. He has a private militia of unknown size and a history of outright traitorous action. He cannot be trusted to stand down."
Shikaku slipped his hands into his pockets, slouching slightly in thought. "It seems likely that an attempt to process him for his crimes will end badly," he pointed out, resigned. "He could send his forces against us or have them protect him. Danzo is wily. There is almost no chance we could get him locked away safely without exposing the crime. The Third Hokage might be lynched in the streets."
"Is there any reason he should escape the consequences of his actions?" she asked, bitterness obvious.
The man shrugged. "If what he mentioned about Itachi's current assignment is accurate, letting this information out would probably both end his life and lose our informant."
Tsunade cradled her head in her hands, wishing the world was as simple as she had thought it was only two hours ago when she was cheered by hundreds. She had promised those people that they were under her protection. It had seemed a little easier without an immediate crisis. Her mind went to that skinny Uchiha brat who she had been beating around the training field. The kid actually wasn't so bad—a little glum, but he had a quick wit and an impressive work ethic. Training him hadn't been terrible, but she hadn't honestly considered taking him on as an apprentice. After all, her specialties wouldn't exactly be the first choice for a self-proclaimed avenger.
Then she had a realization and groaned out loud, confusing the poor stressed Nara in front of her desk. 'I can't very well push him off onto some rookie team now. Not only do I feel bad for the little shit, but he has to be guided away from his goal of killing his brother, who happens to be innocent. Gently. By someone with subtlety, understanding of clinical psychology, and access to the information that his brother is innocent. It has to be me or possibly Shizune. I can't begin to trust anyone else with this. I'm hesitant to put it on poor Shizune's shoulders. He can't possibly find out the truth, not yet.' Poor thing might actually have a psychotic break if she broke it to him suddenly.
"We are going to write a letter to the Daimyo," she decided, returning to the real world. It took Shikaku only a moment to catch on.
He nodded. "I see. Ensuring that our version of events is the one that reaches his ears first, to prevent later problems?"
"You're going to help me compose it, as well as escort it to him personally with your team. I'm pulling all three of you onto the active duty roster for this assignment." She leveled him with a steady stare. "I cannot trust this letter to conventional means, you understand, nor can I unilaterally trust my ANBU now." She winced at that thought. "Kami only knows how I'm going to sort this monstrosity out when I cannot trust my own forces."
"That should be next," Shikaku agreed, gaze drifting over her shoulder to fixate longingly on the blue sky outside. "We should know what kind of forces Danzo has at his disposal before we commit to a course of action."
~~~
Sasuke still looked a little shell-shocked when he met Aiko and Karin for morning conditioning a few days after the inauguration, a tradition that had somehow endured even without half of the original workout group. Karin finished the warm-up run first and folded straight over in half, touching the ground between her feet with her elbows.
"What's wrong, Sasuke-san?" She rolled back upwards and stretched straight upwards, palms facing up and fingers interlocked. The other two joined her for their own flexibility stretches. Aiko looked at her male companion, curiously. He hadn't been spending much time with them lately.
"Tsunade offered to take me on as an apprentice."
The girls froze, staring at him with wide eyes. "W-what!?" Aiko tried to process that information, giving a little laugh. 'Well… Sakura isn't around to take the job.' She winced. 'In a way, it makes sense.' He seemed unsure as to what he should think. 'Tsunade has been gone for so long that she could be making a politically charged decision to connect with the younger generation,' she theorized. 'It's probably not a coincidence that her new apprentice is from the clan-heir age group. It could smooth things over for her to have the adulation and some semblance of a personal connection to the age group who will be her new Chuunin and Jounin. Most of the people she worked with are either retiring or leaving active field duty.'
"That is so cool," Karin gushed. Aiko jerked in surprise. She'd forgotten that she had yet to respond.
"It is pretty awesome," she agreed, swiveling to face him completely. He grunted, stretching one arm behind his head. "Are you going to take her up on it? I mean, wow. Getting trained by a Sannin… Well, I guess it may be slightly more prestigious than getting trained by Kakashi-sensei." She took a moment to hope this wasn't one of the days when he was lurking around to make sure they worked out, not bothering to try to check. He could hide from her. "Not by much", she grudgingly allowed. "He's really awesome."
Sasuke gave an irritated sigh, frowning slightly. "I know that she's powerful, but I never saw myself learning healing," he scowled.
'He's probably wondering if working with Tsunade would prepare him to kill Itachi,' Aiko realized. 'It's certainly not the traditional specialty for someone who plans to hunt an S-class missing nin. Then again, Tsunade is probably one of like six living people outside of the Akatsuki who could hope to fight Itachi. You could argue either way.'
Karin snorted. "What's so wrong with that? No one knows how to take a person apart like a medic does, and Tsunade is the best. Besides, that's not all she can do."
"Ugh," she groaned inappropriately loudly at a sudden and unpleasant thought. The other two turned to look at her questioningly. Aiko shrugged. "I just imagined Sasuke uprooting a tree and swinging it at Kakashi-sensei with Tsunade's super strength one day when he shows up to practice late with another lame excuse. 'I got lost on the road of life,'" she mocked.
The boy appeared to seriously consider that, a smile tugging at one side of his lips insistently as he started his pull-ups, easily ducking his chin above and below the metal bar between two wooden posts. "He'd deserve it."
The girls joined him, with varying levels of enthusiasm. Karin had a look on her face that implied she would skip this part of conditioning if no one was there to peer pressure her into it. The other two pretended not to hear how rough her breathing got, transitioning to holding their chins above the bar.
"Just two minutes, right," Karin huffed, quickly turning red.
"Yepp," Aiko responded, letting her feet wave slightly in the air. She closed her eyes to concentrate, hating the way her arms began to burn before she was done. "ugh." She let herself fall to the ground, landing in a slight crouch.
"I think I like the idea," Aiko said thoughtfully. "You and Naruto can be like the new Sannin."
"Leaving you to be Orochimaru," Karin giggled, stepping blissfully over the elephant in the room that Aiko wasn't really the third member of that original team. "I don't think that parallel really works out."
"Makes sense, you're the creepy one," Sasuke taunted quietly.
Aiko flushed. "Ah, no. That's not what I meant. I think that has to be Anko. She's the only one with the snake contract now," she pointed out. Sasuke gave her a strangely considering look.
"The only one…" He mused. "Does that mean that the contract reverted to her when he died?" Aiko shrugged. 'Probably.' He seemed to take her shrug as affirmation. "She probably should have an apprentice sign it," he pointed out calmly. "Otherwise it'll be lost when she dies."
~~~
Miles and miles away, safely back in one of many temporary bases in Rain country, Itachi allowed himself a moment alone to try to puzzle through the baffling information he had received at the end of the two genjutsu he had cast in Konoha. Judging by the fact that the two had been released within an hour's time, he was almost certain that the Sannin Tsunade had returned to Konoha. It was surprising that Pein had yet to find that out, or if he had he had yet to share the information. Generally Pein seemed to hold to the policy that information was a form of power that should be shared when relevant. It certainly was relevant now, given that he had recently ordered Itachi and Kisame to investigate the rumors (that Itachi knew to be fact) that the Kyuubi jinchuuriki was now in Konoha's active forces.
Itachi knew that the jinchuuriki was now a genin because he was on his otouto's team, under the Copy-Nin. He had a burning desire for more information about his otouto, but had managed to avoid bringing Sasuke up when he tortured his genin teacher. His willpower had been pushed too far by curiosity, however, at the red-headed girl who had mistaken him for his otouto.
'She called him her kohai,' he remembered. That was strange. Sasuke had always been proud, in the way that only a son of the Uchiha could be. The girl had looked to be about his age. Why would Sasuke allow a girl his age to claim mentor status? Itachi masterfully turned his mind away from his wistful desire to see his brother again. (Was he tall? Did he still have mother's eyes? Was he getting strong enough to be safe from Madara's machinations?)
The information he had obtained from the two released genjutsu painted an incomplete picture of the people his otouto was closest to in Konoha. One of them was unsurprising, although it was painful to remember torturing someone he still held a great deal of respect for.
The other… 'Is the girl insane? A spy of some sort?'
Those two options were exponentially more likely than the initial conclusion he had gathered from the utter nonsense she had garbled over the 72 hours in-world that the genjutsu had lasted. Unfortunately, they didn't fit the information. All he had wanted was to know how she had sensed his presence, and that seemed to be the only thing she was not willing to talk about.
He had made the mistake of asking her if she knew who he was and what he was capable of doing to her –apparently, his genjutsu self had an embarrassing flair for the dramatic—and had been rather surprised to hear accurate babble about his career, participation in but not masterminding of the massacre, and his current partner in the Akatsuki… which turned to an outpour about other members. It was almost all information he had shared with Jiraiya, of course, but he would never have told any of that to some Chuunin stationed in Konoha.
There was absolutely no way for her to have the information she'd had. Some of what she had said made no sense at all—he was certain that Orochimaru was dead (even though he'd nearly had heart failure when he processed the information that Orochimaru had tried to use a mind-control seal on Sasuke). But there was no earthly way he could imagine for her to know that Pein was not the leader of Akatsuki.
'Clumsy, in addition to whatever insanity she possesses,' Itachi mused, completely ignoring the fighting going on between his fellow Akatsuki nearby. 'If she holds information like that, she should be able to protect it. Had I been anyone else, I would go back to kill her.'
Being who he was, he did not mind having someone else know that Madara was a threat. But how? That was troubling. The Sharingan had been known to give predictive powers that relied on probability and minute cues that the human mind didn't consciously notice, but to the best of his knowledge there wasn't truly anything that could allow someone to predict the future. Yet she would have to be a seer in order to know what she did, unless there was something very large that he was overlooking.
'Sasuke… you have fallen in with strange people.' A Jinchuuriki, the Copy-Nin, and that strange girl who knew too much… 'This will require further investigation,' he decided grimly, packing for an extended mission. It was time to find an old contact.