Yasi took a breath and got herself together. "I'm sorry about all that. I needed to vent. Usually I can vent to my parents, but they're looking to me to win a war right now, so..." She scrubbed her eyes for a moment and met Vincent's gaze. "Sorry. You wanted to ask me about something."
It took Vincent a full four seconds to shift topics. "Oh, that? Naw, that'll keep."
"Tell me." She pressed.
He shook his head. "You have enough on your plate."
"Which is why I'd like to change the subject." Yasi insisted.
Long silence.
"Yasi." Vincent said quietly. "There's a story in the papers about a body being discovered in the Hudson. Got washed up with the tide. The body didn't have a head, but fingerprints say it was a missing cop. Officer Archibald Grey."
Yasi said nothing for a long time. "Well, that's just the icing on the cake." She muttered thickly.
"All the Riverfolk I've seen use spiked clubs and crossbows." Vincent volunteered, feeling nervous. "There's only one person I know who might have a problem with Grey, and use a weapon suitable for beheading purposes."
Yasi said nothing, but her eyes flicked to the sword, propped up against Vincent's couch.
"Yasi..." Vincent continued, trying to get a response of some kind. "What did you think I was going to do? Did you think I was going to turn you in? Did you think it would matter if I tried?"
Yasi said nothing, but she wasn't looking at him.
"Yasi." Vincent pressed. "Look at me."
She wouldn't.
"I wondered how you could be so cool about lying to me; about slicing up a cop and then forgetting it ever happened." He almost laughed at the thought. "And of course, the answer came to me: Why would it bother you, when it never has before?" He didn't raise his voice; he didn't threaten. He wasn't angry; he was heartsick. "I... I gave up a lot for this." He said finally. "I'm lying to all my friends. I'm lying to my boss. I'm breaking a few laws; or at least bending them a scary long way."
Yasi said nothing.
"I lost my girlfriend." Vincent added. "I know you didn't like her; but I did. And I walked away from her for the chance to just... be in your universe for a while. If you hadn't come to me... If I had stumbled onto the Underside on my own?" He held the paper up, almost pointing it at her like an accusation. "Would you have taken my head too?"
She said nothing, but she kept bunching her toes. "This is nice. I like your carpet." She admitted, and reached for her boots again. As she pulled them on, Yasi finally looked at him. There was a single tear on her face. "You hate me now." It was not a question.
Vincent shook his head. "Of course not."
"But things have changed. You were scared to ask. You were worried I might do something to you too." She pressed. "You've always known I was a dangerous ninja, but I was your friend first. Now I'm more ninja than friend."
Vincent couldn't look at her either. "I think... The Underside needs a Ninja more than I need a friend."
Yasi felt another single tear follow the first, but her expression never changed. "Probably right." She acknowledged. "But that's not going to change any time soon. If my world lives out the week, it will still be like this. It will always be like this."
"I know."
"I can't walk away and go somewhere sunny Vincent. I can't just move up here and go to movies with you." Yasi said, frustrated. "I have a job. It's important that I do it right, it's important that I do it myself. Now more than ever. It's not the first time I've had to do damage."
"I know."
Yasi's voice grew hard and certain. "The First Duty of the Shinobi is to protect The Secret." She declared; and Vincent could tell it was a lesson learned by rote.
"Yasi, I'm not arguing with you."
Long silence.
Vincent picked up her sword and held it out to her. She came over to take it, never taking her eyes off his as she slung it across her shoulders again. She didn't step back, leaving them close. Vincent found he was holding his breath.
Yasi leaned in, very slowly, and brushed their lips together just the tiniest bit. It was a kiss so totally devoid of any warmth and emotion that it actually made Vincent shiver.
"I have to go." She said softly. "I understand if you don't want me to come back."
Vincent wanted to stop her, but he hesitated. He looked around the apartment for a second... and his eyes fixed on the newspaper, reporting a dead cop washing up. It wasn't an endearing quirk she had, it wasn't a sweet habit he approved of. She killed people. It was part of her job.
He started to tell her to stay... but she was already gone.
"Be safe." Vincent whispered after her. "And if this ends with a happy ending... I'll wait for you in the sun."
~oo00oo~
"Where have you been?" Keeper demanded.
"Clearing my head." Yasi said softly. "What happened… threw me for a loop. I was in the mood to have a fit, and I can't do that here."
"You went to Vincent." Keeper said. It was not a question.
"Yes." Yasi confessed.
"How'd he take it?"
Yasi sighed hard, and shut her eyes. "Keep, I screwed up. I think I may have wrecked that one completely."
"He'll forgive you." Keeper said simply.
"I don't think so. The things he's mad about are all true. And if I try to make it better, we'll start fighting again."
"Exactly. You don't come back for more arguments with people you don't like, you barely talk to people you hate… You fight with your friends. They're the only people you can fight with."
"I hope so." Yasi said. "But Dorcan was right. Except for Vincent, I have no idea who's on my side any more." She almost looked sad. "And now, I think that I may have screwed that up completely too."
Keeper started to say something when Archivist came in. "Hey there." Archivist said lightly. "We thought you might have been tracking down the mole."
"Six months, we haven't found any trace of a mole since Owen escaped." Yasi shrugged.
"No sign?" Archivist scorned. "Think about this for a second. You approached one hundred and fifty Throwbacks and assorted others and asked them to come and fight for us. Owen, or someone else got to them before you did, and convinced them to switch sides. This happened in between your training schedule, and you didn't know? Considering that you managed to keep them secret from the two of us…"
"We have no idea if the mole is even still around." Yasi insisted. "After the last week, what else is there for him to do here? He could be anywhere; but honestly? I think he escaped long ago. He's out there laughing at us right now."
"Whoever he is, he would have been passing on all our entrances to Vandark."
"Maybe, but I doubt it." Yasi said. "If their mole spent a lot of time communicating with the outside, I would have found him out by now."
"Everything Vandark has been doing has been from inside. If VonGunn hadn't called us, we never would have had a clue." Keeper said logically. "So who has access to the information Vandark would want?"
"Nobody." Yasi said proudly. "I did more than recruit for the last six months. Remember how me and Vincent spent all that time scouting new entrances? Did you think I did it on my own just because I liked hanging out with him?"
"Yes." Archivist said without hesitation.
Yasi flushed. "Okay, so maybe I did. But I handled it alone so that anyone in here would have very limited information about ways in and out. I saw to it that every Watcher, every team of Borrowers, every Digger putting the door in, every Shinobi only knows about one or two entrances, and that's not enough for an invasion. Even the Throwbacks I recruited came in the same three doors; just at different times. Whoever the spy is, he doesn't have a way to let Vandark's army in."
"Vincent." Keeper said suddenly. "Vincent knows about the entrances you found."
"I told Vincent to lose it all." Yasi said. "I convinced him that having such information was dangerous. He has no copies at his house, he wrote nothing on the records we Borrowed from the City Planne
r's Office. There's no way he committed it all to memory. We only put entrances in at a third of the places we scouted."
"Then we're still ahead of the curve." Keeper said with certainty.
There was a beat as that sank in.
Archivist grinned. "Did Vandark just gain himself an advantage over our army and have no way to use it?"
Yasi nodded, like it should have been obvious.
Archivist and Keeper traded a look. "We made her." Keeper said proudly; jerking a thumb at their daughter.
"Yeah we did." Archivist boomed with obvious pride. "Yasi, you just outsmarted him! Why aren't you smiling?"
"I don't smile." Yasi barked coldly. "Has Vandark been dissuaded at all? Ever? Every time we've tried something approaching a roadblock, he found a way around it." She was cold as a rattlesnake as she drew her sword, and checked along the blade. "Make no mistake, he'll think of something."
Yasi turned and stalked toward the door.
"Where the hell are you going?" Keeper demanded.
"Back to the surface." Yasi said over her shoulder. "Whatever's gonna happen, it'll happen there."
Archivist looked after his daughter with his jaw hanging open. "What was that all about?"
"She had a fight with Vincent." Keeper excused.
~oo00oo~
"You understand what I need you to do?"
"Yes, My Lord Vandark."
"I take no pleasure in using these tactics. But it must be done, or the plan will fail, and all we have spent so long working toward will fail."
"I understand."
"I'm sorry about before."
"When?"
"The Riverfolk attack. None of them know you're with us. They never should have struck at you."
"It's all right. It actually made my job easier."
"I remember the people who help me, my friend. Do not think that you are being used. I am not blind to the work you have done already in my name. Just a little while longer, and we will all have more than we ever thought was possible. Including the New York Lostkind. You're doing this for them. Not for me, not even for yourself. This is for the people you love."
"I know. And… I am grateful. I'm just nervous."
"Don't be. I'll be right there with you."
"Thank you Lord Vandark."
~oo00oo~
The fight with Yasi was a weight on his back.
Vincent hated the way things had been left with her, but at the same time, he couldn't think of anything he said or did that was wrong or unfair. Everything he had accused her of, she was guilty of. How many people had stumbled onto the secret of the Lostkind? How many people had her blade silenced?
Such thoughts chased him into the park. Checkov saw him, and he shook his head. He wasn't so much in the mood to give a chess game his attention. Checkov moved on.
His purpose to the Underside was to use his knowledge of the unseen parts of the city to their advantage. It was not unlike his regular job. If Yasi had approached someone else two years before, and Vincent had stumbled onto the Labyrinth himself by accident… would she have taken his head too?
A man sat down opposite Vincent. "You look like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders."
Vincent looked up. His guest was wearing a long black overcoat, had incredibly pale eyes, and a scar just under his chin. He was built like a gorilla, but his smile was warm and friendly. "Wanna talk about it?"
Vincent wanted to scream it from the rooftops, but knew he couldn't. "Do I know you?"
"Not exactly, but I'm told you've been a source of help to many a person in this city that couldn't help themselves. I think that people like that should expect a little karmic loyalty. The world is full of silent heroes, and the news doesn't mention them. About the only time you hear about a Good Samaritan on the news is when they get caught in the crossfire and killed for their trouble."
Vincent couldn't help the chuckle. "Well, that's true I guess." He held out a hand to the huge man. "Vincent McCall."
The man returned the handshake. "You may call me Vandark." He said without fanfare.
Vincent yanked his hand back like he'd been burned. He jumped to his feet and backed away quickly.
Vandark didn't seem surprised. "Sit. Down." He growled, suddenly ferocious.
Intimidated, Vincent did so. For the first time, he got a proper look at the man that had caused all the fear Below.
"So." Vandark seemed to be enjoying himself. "We finally meet. You've been an interesting wild card in this story Vincent. You're not with them, but you're not exactly a neutral either. In fact, of the three carefully arranged plans to find entrance to the New York Underside, you have managed to single-handedly block two of them." He shifted on the bench, to sit closer to Vincent. "Let me say only that I have no interest in hurting you."
Vincent just looked at him, heart hammering.
Vandark smiled despite himself. "Okay, that's a lie. I would love to throttle the life out of you. But there's something I want more; and if I can do it cleanly, that works for me."
"What the hell do you want?" Vincent demanded.
"But of course, you already know the answer to that." Vandark said smoothly. "I want all the ways into the Underside that you have discovered in your time at the City Planners office." Vandark explained. "One way or another, this ends in a few days, and I want to do this with a minimum of fuss. In the final analysis, I've already won."
"You haven't won yet." Vincent warned. "You've never even seen the Underside..."
"I don't have to." He countered, and started counting on his fingers. "Keeper, who leads the general population. Protective, and unwilling. She's been the third party in all disputes, giving her authority over most of the Lostkind. All I have to do is present her with a choice where she doesn't know what to do; and she will crumble. Then there's Archivist, the protector of all the accumulated knowledge. He thinks in abstracts, as the keeper of all accumulated knowledge of the place. As a result, he has a strong love for the libraries and the archives. You've heard Yasi spin off a textbook history of things; like the subway, or the Steam Pipes. Who do you think taught it to her? All I have to do is make him choose between his books, or his daughter. And that leaves Yasi." Vandark's eyes glimmered. "I for one can't wait to cross swords with her. One Warrior-Guard to another."
Vincent felt his heart sink. He knew everything. "I don't have any idea how to get to the Underside. I've been there exactly twice, and the ways they brought me in were gone the next day." He said honestly.
"I know you and Yasi scouted new entrances." Vandark said with such certainty that Vincent couldn't argue the point.
"Then you also know I only scouted the locations." Vincent countered. "I couldn't tell you which ones actually have doors."
"True, but you were smitten with the whole place, weren't you?" Vandark said gamely. "Think about it. Regular guy, regular life, boring office job, barely looked around at the fantastic city around you… Then you get a moment's attention from an attractive, mysterious woman from another world and get swept away to Neverland. You can't expect me to believe you didn't want more."
"If I did…" Vincent struggled to be smart. "Then you know I'd destroy any information I found once people started dying. I destroyed all the records, at Yasi's insistence."
"No you wouldn't." Vandark said easily. "Oh, I have no doubt you'd hide anything of value, but you wouldn't destroy it. Information is just so easily copied these days. I'm guessing you have a private copy, something only you know about. Just for the moment, just for the day when you finally say: ‘What the hell, I want to go back'. You said it yourself: You found places to put doors; but don't know which ones were used. So if you ever wanted to go back…"
Vincent said nothing.
Vandark pointed at him. "Ha! I'll take that as a 'yes'." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a USB key. "So, I can assume that's what this is then?"
Vincent froze. He recognized the USB as his own personal one. It never left his
person; and he slapped at his pocket.
Vandark grinned. "My people swiped it off you before you got as far as the subway this morning. We've been all over it; but the folder we need; the one marked 'Historical Documents' is heavily encrypted. Three codes; each as a fail-safe that will delete the folder if incorrectly entered. We've already searched your house; your computers, your post-it notes; your messages; your emails; your office... My guess is, you kept them memorized." Vandark slid over a piece of paper. "Write down your passwords in full please."
Vincent said nothing.
Vandark sighed. "Must I really threaten you?"
Vincent shook his head. "You can't. Even under duress; you'll never be sure if I gave you the right password; and the fail safe would delete the files. You'd never get a second chance."
Vandark considered that and grinned at Vincent. "Tell you what. I'll make a deal with you. My network tells me that you play chess when you come to this park. Sometimes you throw the game so that you can give money to people who won't accept charity."
Vincent froze. "Yeah?"
"Then how about we play a game? You and me. You win, you get this USB back, I walk away and you never hear from any of us again. I win, you give me the passwords, I walk away, and you never hear from any of us again. Sound like a good deal? Either way, you survive without a scratch."
"You won't do it." Vincent said seriously. "If you walk away, you won't be able to find a way into the Underside. Not for a while. Long enough that Yasi and the others will find you and think up a way to stop you."
"Very likely." Vandark agreed, grinning like a shark. "The game ain't worth playing if the stakes aren't big enough. I could lose the whole war on this chess board. Yasi would owe you her whole world. I can only imagine how... grateful she'd be."
Vincent pressed his hands against the chess table to push himself upright, getting ready to leave. "No deal."
There was a flash of movement, and by the time Vincent could follow what had happened, Vandark had slammed a long knife into the chess table, burying it a half inch deep in the concrete, right between Vincent's first and second finger, close enough for him to feel the cool steel. The whole lunge had happened faster than Vincent could see it.
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