[Fic] CRAAAACK: Spain/Thailand: Replacement
CP03: Spain/Thailand: Replacement
Summary: Perhaps infiltrating the Hapsburg Mafia isn't as easy as Sunan thought. Not with that Antonio around, anyway.
--
Sunan coughed into his hand and looked cautiously around. He was pretty sure he should know the place, seeing as who he should be.
But he wasn't who he should be.
Technically.
Yeah.
--
"Sunan," Lien had told him, a serious look in her dark eyes. "We need you to infiltrate the Habsburg Mafia for us."
"You must mean me and Mei," he'd corrected, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Or just her. She's the spy, after all."
"No," Lien told him firmly. "You. Only."
"W-why me?" he'd stuttered, looking at the weapon specialist. "You know I can barely hold my own in espionage." He stared at her, and when Lien didn't move, he sighed. No way around it, then. "Who am I supposed to be?"
"Roderich Edelstein, head of the Habsburg Mafia. They're rising in power, and we need to stop them as soon as possible." Lien looked at the clipboard. "You'll have to be him for a few days. Just as long as Kiku and Hong get him tomorrow night, and you'll find out their inner workings and other information while we squeeze info out of Edelstein and possibly hold him hostage."
"E-Edelstein?" Sunan choked, nearly spitting out his water. "Lien! Do you know how bad I am at the piano? Plus you're forgetting that one lady he's supposed to be married to-"
"You'll be fine." Lien cut him off sharply. "Yao tells us he's supposed to be out tomorrow at dinner. Kiku and Hong will get him then, and then you'll go back in his stead." She coughed. "You and Edelstein look very much alike - except for a few minor differences, which Mei can fix easily. In the meantime, Yong Soo will give you some basic lessons on the piano, and Yao will give you the rundown on his inner circle."
"What about Hedervary-his second in command? I'm pretty sure she can tell the difference…!"
"She'll be easy. Just act all lovey-dovey towards her, and…" Lien trailed off, and looked away. "Good luck."
--
He was uncomfortable.
This stupid blue coat was too long and too stuffy. Sunan wondered how Roderich bore it.
"All right. According to Mei's notes, the office should be somewhere here…Oh!"
His books (stolen from the local bookstore, of course) collapsed onto the floor, and he was pushed backwards by a force colliding into his body. "Ow!"
"Oh - oh dios, boss, I'm so sorry!" Sunan looked up, disgruntled, at a handsome young man about his age, with tanned skin and dark brown hair. Emerald green eyes looked at him with worry. It took a while for Sunan to recognize him as Antonio, one of Roderich's underlings.
"You be careful of that Antonio," Mei had muttered, carefully applying a black dot of long-lasting makeup to Sunan's face. "He may seem nice, but he's really as dark and sneaky as that Braginski guy."
"Antonio Fernandez Carriedo is one of the most convincing guys in the business," Yao had droned. "He'll take your coffee for you one minute, then stab you in the back the next."
"Trust no one," Kiku had told him firmly.
"I-I'm so sorry, boss, really!" The man extended a hand, and Sunan took it without hesitation. "…Danke," he muttered.
"W-wow, boss, are you okay?" the man asked cheerfully, handing him his books (on classical music, just in case). "You're usually not this nice."
Oh, shit. Angry musical genius, right. Something clicked in Sunan's mind. "I'm just having a good day, is all. Now get back to work, Carriedo." That was his name, wasn't it?
"All…right." Antonio held his gaze a little longer than Sunan would like to admit. "By the way, boss, Miss Elizaveta is looking for you. She's in your office."
Sunan gave him a curt nod and walked away, his mind lingering on that nice brunette man he'd just met.
--
"Roderich!" Elizaveta - that was her name, wasn't it? - smiled at him. "I was looking for you."
"Elizaveta, good day," he greeted politely, remembering Lien's words. "How was your day?"
"Fine," Elizaveta replied, tucking brown hair behind her ear. "Where were you all day? I had to send Antonio to look for you." Ah, so that was it.
"I - I was taking care of some things," Sunan replied, feigning his best German accent (in Kiku's opinion, it was pretty good. He was a polyglot, after all, languages were part of his specialty) "Have you had your dinner yet?" That was how that prissy aristocrat talked, right?
"No," she replied, looking confused. "Don't we always eat dinner together?"
"Ah, I'm sorry," Sunan said hurriedly, thinking fast. He grabbed a cup of coffee on the desk and drank it. "It slipped my mind." It should be Mei doing this; she's a natural at this.
Elizaveta looked at him with a mixture of hurt and confusion, and then nodded. "I understand. I know you're busy bringing down the Oriental Mafia."
Sunan nearly spit out his coffee. Oriental mafia…downfall…Yao…Kiku…Yong Soo…Mei…Hong…they have to know about this. Lien… He coughed lightly, covering up his disbelief. "Yes," he murmured. "So I am."
"Boss?" Antonio poked his head into the room. "I have letters from Mr. Adnan…"
"Hurry, bring them in," Elizaveta urged, gesturing for Antonio to come into the room. "We need those papers. They have inside information on Mr. Wang…"
Sunan felt faint, and he felt his cheeks heating up. Antonio looked at him strangely, and handed the papers to Elizaveta.
"Roderich?" Elizaveta looked at him curiously. "Are you all right? You seem…off your groove." Sunan raised an eyebrow at her.
"Hey, boss, maybe you just need a bit of your daily piano," Antonio remarked teasingly. "I haven't heard you play at all." Elizaveta nodded serenely. "Yes, that must be it."
Shit. Not good, not good, not gooood… "I'm sorry, I will just retire early tonight. I feel a migraine coming on."
"What about our dinner?" Elizaveta pouted, fingering the flower in her hair.
"My sincerest apologies, Elizaveta. Tomorrow, perhaps." Sunan paused, and managed to choke out an "Ich liebe dich."
"Szérétlék," she replied, smiling softly.
Sunan wanted to throw up. He stole a glance at Antonio, who was staring at him. Sunan felt his cheeks flush, and he muttered a "Goodbye," to the both of them, his mind swirling.
--
Sunan turned around, and made sure that nobody was behind him. "Yao," he hissed into the cell phone, tossing various throwing knives and a gun onto his belt. "Yao!"
"Sunan?" Yao's confused voice came over the cell phone. "Is this you?"
"I had to steal a cell phone from a man on the street," he muttered. "A phone with which no calls would be logged."
"I understand," Yao's voice came over the static. "Now where-"
"Shit!" Sunan swore, realizing he'd lost the connection. Without panicking, he dialed Kiku's number, to no success. Mei's, Yong Soo's, and Hong's phones had little success.
"Lien," he muttered. He wondered what she was doing now. If she was okay.
Antonio…
That was another story. He had nothing to do with this.
"Well, I guess there's no other way around it." Sunan smiled. "Time to bolt."
--
He made sure Elizaveta was asleep, and left the room. The night was lovely, with a full moon in the sky, surrounded by stars. To ones right, Venus shone brightly. If one look closely enough, they could see the Milky Way, a beautiful hazy white shape in the sky.
Sunan paid no attention and bolted out of the house, heading towards the gate. Shit, the gate keys! I left them in the room…
Improvise, man, you're supposed to be good at this. "Mei, forgive me for this," he muttered, taking out the hairpin she had fastened into a very convincing cowlick and tried to pick the lock on the gate. He was almost through…
"Where do you think you're going?"
Sunan's heart rose in his throat, and turned around to see a familiar pair of emerald eyes glittering in the dark. "Antonio…" he croaked.
Antonio smiled sinisterly. "I suggest stay where you are, because Miss Hedervary won't be very happy when she realizes you tried to leave. Or the fact that you've tried to place calls to places outside here…specifically another mafia."
Sunan felt bile and blood rise. "Y-you! You got rid of the signals!"
"I did." Antonio's smile grew wider. "You know, boss, Gilbert called yesterday. He was wondering where you were. Said Ludwig was, too. Bella, too, left some of her chocolates for you. And Vash left a letter and his new number. Lily sent you some things." He stepped closer, and Sunan found himself petrified, unable to move. "Do you know how many of them there are out there, boss? Do you know how many people wallow in self-pity over the fact that you choose Miss Elizaveta over them, myself included, Mr. Roderich Edelstein?" Antonio laughed darkly. "Oh, wait. I meant Mr. Sunan Wattana."
"H-how did you know?" Sunan was disgusted at the fact that his voice was cracking, and felt his heart stop.
"Antonio is the Habsburgs' best spy," Mei told him. "He can do anything he wants, and nobody would ever know."
"You knew…" Sunan mumbled. "You knew it was me all along."
"Of course." Antonio gave him another sinister grin. "It's not too hard to tap into somebody's private phone lines - you should get a new electronics technician by the way, it's too easy - and listen in to their conversations, you know. Also," Antonio paused, and Sunan could see just a flicker of sadness in his eyes. "Boss never misses a chance to eat dinner with Miss Elizaveta. Never also does he turn down a request to play piano. Ever."
"Hey, boss, maybe you just need a bit of your daily piano," Antonio remarked teasingly. "I haven't heard you play at all."
"So that's why," he mumbled. His hand tried to move towards his belt, but he found himself unable to move. He closed his eyes, and thought of Yao, Kiku, Yong Soo, and Hong. His brothers. He thought of Mei. His sister. He thought of Lien. I'm sorry.
"Yes, that's why." Antonio stepped even closer, green eyes twinkling. "But since you look so much like Boss, I guess you'll have to do."
He pressed Sunan's body against the wall, and Sunan couldn't remember what happened after that.
--
Comments are <3.
Summary: Perhaps infiltrating the Hapsburg Mafia isn't as easy as Sunan thought. Not with that Antonio around, anyway.
--
Sunan coughed into his hand and looked cautiously around. He was pretty sure he should know the place, seeing as who he should be.
But he wasn't who he should be.
Technically.
Yeah.
--
"Sunan," Lien had told him, a serious look in her dark eyes. "We need you to infiltrate the Habsburg Mafia for us."
"You must mean me and Mei," he'd corrected, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Or just her. She's the spy, after all."
"No," Lien told him firmly. "You. Only."
"W-why me?" he'd stuttered, looking at the weapon specialist. "You know I can barely hold my own in espionage." He stared at her, and when Lien didn't move, he sighed. No way around it, then. "Who am I supposed to be?"
"Roderich Edelstein, head of the Habsburg Mafia. They're rising in power, and we need to stop them as soon as possible." Lien looked at the clipboard. "You'll have to be him for a few days. Just as long as Kiku and Hong get him tomorrow night, and you'll find out their inner workings and other information while we squeeze info out of Edelstein and possibly hold him hostage."
"E-Edelstein?" Sunan choked, nearly spitting out his water. "Lien! Do you know how bad I am at the piano? Plus you're forgetting that one lady he's supposed to be married to-"
"You'll be fine." Lien cut him off sharply. "Yao tells us he's supposed to be out tomorrow at dinner. Kiku and Hong will get him then, and then you'll go back in his stead." She coughed. "You and Edelstein look very much alike - except for a few minor differences, which Mei can fix easily. In the meantime, Yong Soo will give you some basic lessons on the piano, and Yao will give you the rundown on his inner circle."
"What about Hedervary-his second in command? I'm pretty sure she can tell the difference…!"
"She'll be easy. Just act all lovey-dovey towards her, and…" Lien trailed off, and looked away. "Good luck."
--
He was uncomfortable.
This stupid blue coat was too long and too stuffy. Sunan wondered how Roderich bore it.
"All right. According to Mei's notes, the office should be somewhere here…Oh!"
His books (stolen from the local bookstore, of course) collapsed onto the floor, and he was pushed backwards by a force colliding into his body. "Ow!"
"Oh - oh dios, boss, I'm so sorry!" Sunan looked up, disgruntled, at a handsome young man about his age, with tanned skin and dark brown hair. Emerald green eyes looked at him with worry. It took a while for Sunan to recognize him as Antonio, one of Roderich's underlings.
"You be careful of that Antonio," Mei had muttered, carefully applying a black dot of long-lasting makeup to Sunan's face. "He may seem nice, but he's really as dark and sneaky as that Braginski guy."
"Antonio Fernandez Carriedo is one of the most convincing guys in the business," Yao had droned. "He'll take your coffee for you one minute, then stab you in the back the next."
"Trust no one," Kiku had told him firmly.
"I-I'm so sorry, boss, really!" The man extended a hand, and Sunan took it without hesitation. "…Danke," he muttered.
"W-wow, boss, are you okay?" the man asked cheerfully, handing him his books (on classical music, just in case). "You're usually not this nice."
Oh, shit. Angry musical genius, right. Something clicked in Sunan's mind. "I'm just having a good day, is all. Now get back to work, Carriedo." That was his name, wasn't it?
"All…right." Antonio held his gaze a little longer than Sunan would like to admit. "By the way, boss, Miss Elizaveta is looking for you. She's in your office."
Sunan gave him a curt nod and walked away, his mind lingering on that nice brunette man he'd just met.
--
"Roderich!" Elizaveta - that was her name, wasn't it? - smiled at him. "I was looking for you."
"Elizaveta, good day," he greeted politely, remembering Lien's words. "How was your day?"
"Fine," Elizaveta replied, tucking brown hair behind her ear. "Where were you all day? I had to send Antonio to look for you." Ah, so that was it.
"I - I was taking care of some things," Sunan replied, feigning his best German accent (in Kiku's opinion, it was pretty good. He was a polyglot, after all, languages were part of his specialty) "Have you had your dinner yet?" That was how that prissy aristocrat talked, right?
"No," she replied, looking confused. "Don't we always eat dinner together?"
"Ah, I'm sorry," Sunan said hurriedly, thinking fast. He grabbed a cup of coffee on the desk and drank it. "It slipped my mind." It should be Mei doing this; she's a natural at this.
Elizaveta looked at him with a mixture of hurt and confusion, and then nodded. "I understand. I know you're busy bringing down the Oriental Mafia."
Sunan nearly spit out his coffee. Oriental mafia…downfall…Yao…Kiku…Yong Soo…Mei…Hong…they have to know about this. Lien… He coughed lightly, covering up his disbelief. "Yes," he murmured. "So I am."
"Boss?" Antonio poked his head into the room. "I have letters from Mr. Adnan…"
"Hurry, bring them in," Elizaveta urged, gesturing for Antonio to come into the room. "We need those papers. They have inside information on Mr. Wang…"
Sunan felt faint, and he felt his cheeks heating up. Antonio looked at him strangely, and handed the papers to Elizaveta.
"Roderich?" Elizaveta looked at him curiously. "Are you all right? You seem…off your groove." Sunan raised an eyebrow at her.
"Hey, boss, maybe you just need a bit of your daily piano," Antonio remarked teasingly. "I haven't heard you play at all." Elizaveta nodded serenely. "Yes, that must be it."
Shit. Not good, not good, not gooood… "I'm sorry, I will just retire early tonight. I feel a migraine coming on."
"What about our dinner?" Elizaveta pouted, fingering the flower in her hair.
"My sincerest apologies, Elizaveta. Tomorrow, perhaps." Sunan paused, and managed to choke out an "Ich liebe dich."
"Szérétlék," she replied, smiling softly.
Sunan wanted to throw up. He stole a glance at Antonio, who was staring at him. Sunan felt his cheeks flush, and he muttered a "Goodbye," to the both of them, his mind swirling.
--
Sunan turned around, and made sure that nobody was behind him. "Yao," he hissed into the cell phone, tossing various throwing knives and a gun onto his belt. "Yao!"
"Sunan?" Yao's confused voice came over the cell phone. "Is this you?"
"I had to steal a cell phone from a man on the street," he muttered. "A phone with which no calls would be logged."
"I understand," Yao's voice came over the static. "Now where-"
"Shit!" Sunan swore, realizing he'd lost the connection. Without panicking, he dialed Kiku's number, to no success. Mei's, Yong Soo's, and Hong's phones had little success.
"Lien," he muttered. He wondered what she was doing now. If she was okay.
Antonio…
That was another story. He had nothing to do with this.
"Well, I guess there's no other way around it." Sunan smiled. "Time to bolt."
--
He made sure Elizaveta was asleep, and left the room. The night was lovely, with a full moon in the sky, surrounded by stars. To ones right, Venus shone brightly. If one look closely enough, they could see the Milky Way, a beautiful hazy white shape in the sky.
Sunan paid no attention and bolted out of the house, heading towards the gate. Shit, the gate keys! I left them in the room…
Improvise, man, you're supposed to be good at this. "Mei, forgive me for this," he muttered, taking out the hairpin she had fastened into a very convincing cowlick and tried to pick the lock on the gate. He was almost through…
"Where do you think you're going?"
Sunan's heart rose in his throat, and turned around to see a familiar pair of emerald eyes glittering in the dark. "Antonio…" he croaked.
Antonio smiled sinisterly. "I suggest stay where you are, because Miss Hedervary won't be very happy when she realizes you tried to leave. Or the fact that you've tried to place calls to places outside here…specifically another mafia."
Sunan felt bile and blood rise. "Y-you! You got rid of the signals!"
"I did." Antonio's smile grew wider. "You know, boss, Gilbert called yesterday. He was wondering where you were. Said Ludwig was, too. Bella, too, left some of her chocolates for you. And Vash left a letter and his new number. Lily sent you some things." He stepped closer, and Sunan found himself petrified, unable to move. "Do you know how many of them there are out there, boss? Do you know how many people wallow in self-pity over the fact that you choose Miss Elizaveta over them, myself included, Mr. Roderich Edelstein?" Antonio laughed darkly. "Oh, wait. I meant Mr. Sunan Wattana."
"H-how did you know?" Sunan was disgusted at the fact that his voice was cracking, and felt his heart stop.
"Antonio is the Habsburgs' best spy," Mei told him. "He can do anything he wants, and nobody would ever know."
"You knew…" Sunan mumbled. "You knew it was me all along."
"Of course." Antonio gave him another sinister grin. "It's not too hard to tap into somebody's private phone lines - you should get a new electronics technician by the way, it's too easy - and listen in to their conversations, you know. Also," Antonio paused, and Sunan could see just a flicker of sadness in his eyes. "Boss never misses a chance to eat dinner with Miss Elizaveta. Never also does he turn down a request to play piano. Ever."
"Hey, boss, maybe you just need a bit of your daily piano," Antonio remarked teasingly. "I haven't heard you play at all."
"So that's why," he mumbled. His hand tried to move towards his belt, but he found himself unable to move. He closed his eyes, and thought of Yao, Kiku, Yong Soo, and Hong. His brothers. He thought of Mei. His sister. He thought of Lien. I'm sorry.
"Yes, that's why." Antonio stepped even closer, green eyes twinkling. "But since you look so much like Boss, I guess you'll have to do."
He pressed Sunan's body against the wall, and Sunan couldn't remember what happened after that.
--
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