OK, if she was reading those instructions right - this should work.
Or not. Whatever. It was all up to her, anyhow, now.
- Or so she thought, anyway.
"...Kallen?"
The young blonde man in the back seat said, softly.
"Oh. Gino. - You can keep on sleeping, if you want."
"...I've slept enough." Gino Weinberg muttered, craning around to look at her.
"So - did you manage to find your mother?"
"..I'm" Kallen swallowed. "Working on it."
"Mmmmm." Gino murmured, groggily. "I thought it might be something like that..."
He flopped over, rubbing his face with handcuffed hands.
"So what happened? Somebody offered to give you back your mother for the head of a Ex-Rounds member, or something?"
Kallen looked at him, and then back at the road, sweatdropping.
"Err...not...quite, actually..."
OK, then, that was a nice place to stop. Kallen stopped the car and got out, opening the back door. Gino looked at her, and swallowed.
" - Hey, hey. Give me some time to think of some nifty last words, at least..."
Kallen sighed, and then just reached over and uncuffed him.
" - Sorry about that. I know you must be sick to death of any kind of handcuffs - I am, after all - How's your head?"
Gino blinked, looking at his freed hands and then at her face.
"Eh...um, Kallen? What's this all about?"
Kallen groaned. OK, how to explain this -
"I'm - playing a game. Of sorts. I need a partner, and - my instructions said that I'd get extra 'bonus points' if I made it look like a kidnapping was going down - with you as the kidnapee, of course."
"A game, huh." Gino looked pensive. "And the prize is..."
"My mum - or so I hope, anyway." Kallen showed Gino one of the photos that was in the envelope. Her mother smiled at the camera among lots of greenery, in a grey-blue uniform. She looked much healthier then when Kallen last remembered seeing her, but that vague smile and those blank-looking eyes...
"Ahh..." Gino rubbed his eyes. "So..."
"Um, yeah, sorry about that. I mean - look, I'd rather you came with me, but I know you were looking for your own parents and stuff, and if I understand things correctly, I'm going to get whatever the 'bonus points' are just by bringing you here, so - Um, you know..."
"Oh, uh..." Gino mumbled. "My parents - were all right, actually. Some of my relatives are still missing, but - well, I can't do anything about it if they're MIA someplace in the EU, so."
Gino grimaced, then, taking a good look at the envelope she had taken the photo out of.
"Is that...his handwriting?"
"Well, yeah." Kallen murmured, fingering it.
"...I....see. I think." Gino buried his face in his hands.
"Even after his death - we're still dancing to the Demon's tune... Kallen. Do you actually - I...mean..."
Kallen closed her eyes.
"Do I actually think that I'll find my Mum at the end of this, and that there's a chance that she'll be - well - OK? More or less?"
Well, yes she did, actually, but how to explain that to Gino of all people...
"I just do, 'kay? Look...I..."
I knew him, at least a little, maybe a little more then most - Err, no, that wasn't going to fly very well with Gino, was it now...
"Alright, Kallen."
Kallen looked up, and blinked. Ehh?
"It's alright - you have yourself a partner."
Gino smiled at her, bravely. Kallen sweatdropped, inwardly.
Well, that was good, but...
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(Posted Sat, 09 May 2009 12:13)
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