Manu manum lavat 11
before
11.
"We have a problem," Nagi told them, when the two groups met in the Koneko, "the people who attacked Omi were Jitterburgh´s people."
"Jitterburgh?" Omi asked, "Does he belong to SZ?"
"Yes, they call him the soul butcher," Crawford explained. "SZ will have sent him to hunt us down. I think it's time to leave the flower shop. We need another safe house. SZ want us dead and your sister back. This is even more pressing."
"What do they want her for?" Aya asked the question which had haunted him for weeks.
"They need her body as host for an old demon. People whose DNA is strong enough to bear such a powerful entity are rare, so they won't give up trying to catch her. But this ceremony can only take place at a certain date. In exactly three days. The next possibility will in about hundred years. So Jitterburgh will do anything to catch us before the deadline."
"We could use one of the secret safe houses of Schwarz's," Schuldig said, "Crawford kept them so secret, that even we don´t know their location."
"We need to move today," Crawford nodded, "swiftly and secretly. I guess we are already under supervision. Just pack the necessary stuff."
"There is not much we need," Ken assured him.
"Good, we'll take bring it with some flowers in the Jeep and then Schuldig will lose our pursuers. Make sure that the safe house is actually safe and that no one followed you."
"Great," the redhead grinned.
"And I think you will take Ken and Omi with you."
"Okay."
"The rest comes with me."
Half an hour later, Schuldig told Omi and Ken to fasten their seatbelts and drove on.
"And which roles do we play in your plan, oh great boss?" Yohji asked Crawford mockingly, but no one really fought against his commands. This was not the time for mistrust.
"I think the next thing to do will be to kill the team, which is watching us at the moment. They will be coming here in about twenty minutes."
"You couldn't be a little more specific, could you?"
Crawford ignored that and sent them their places to wait.
Exactly twenty minutes later, five people in black clothes came in. The first ones were Aya and Yohji's to kill, while Nagi and Crawford took care of the rest.
"And now?" Aya asked.
"We are clear for the moment. We need to get to the others, quickly.” Crawford led them down the stairs and somehow they all managed to get themselves into the car.
"Everything all right," Schuldig informed them, when they joined the others, "the house is clean. Has everything gone well?"
"Think so." Yohji fought the impulse to touch his lover; Schuldig didn't like to be touched in public. So instead he went to the sofa and made himself comfortable.
In the evening they got a short call by Manx: "Kritiker is still watching the people who are told to watch you. They have lost your trace for now. But stay careful and attentive. No one ever came so close to damage SZ. We believe, if you really manage to prevent this ceremony, the inner struggle inside the organization which would follow could endanger SZ for the first time in centuries."
"We will prevent it," Aya told her firmly.
But in his heart this firmness couldn't stop his fear. This night his dreams again circled about men in dark hoods which were hurting his sister. With a scream he woke up, only to see Crawford who was quietly handing him a glass of water.
Dazed but thankful, he sipped it.
"Do you really see such little things?"
The oracle nodded. "And I have experience dealing with nightmares."
The American gave him one of his rare smiles, "I'll stay as long as you want."
Aya considered sending him away, but suddenly he felt very vulnerable and Crawford was not one of Weiss, for whom he had to be strong. So he huddled together and leaned against the American. Somehow the calm and the firmness Crawford was practically radiating calmed him. Soon he was back asleep. When he woke up, Crawford was gone.
TBC