Justice at Delphi - The Fall of Sibyl

Chapter 35

To fight the raven you may make alliance with the serpent until the battle is done.

-Robert Jordan

"You know?" Mika stuttered, taken aback by Akane's reply. She didn't even seem upset. Somehow, her senior inspector managed to look utterly unaffected.

"Yes...and you're not the only one." Akane lifted her wrist and played the recording they'd made of Ren Ishida's call. 

Mika nodded, her stomach lurching. "You've met him too?"

Akane shook her head. "Not yet, but as you can tell he's the reason we found you in time." She let her words hang in the air deliberately. Akane needed Shimotsuki to feel the weight of of that knowledge. To know how expendable they all were to Sibyl.

She bit her lip, her legs shaking. Leaning back against the wall for support, Mika clenched her trembling hands into fists. It didn't shock her that Sibyl wasn't interested in protecting her. After what they'd done to Akane's grandmother and this, Sibyl was capable of any atrocity to maintain itself. What did surprise her was Ren's willingness to save her. Why had he bothered to get involved? 

Akane continued, observing Shimotsuki carefully. Sometimes she forgot that Mika was the youngest inspector on record. Even now after all these years, she was still very young. Right now, she looked like a scared child. "I gather he knows as much about Sibyl as we do...if not more."

Mika collapsed on the couch, her head in her hands. "I'm-I'm so sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing, but after this..." She trailed off, tears filling her eyes.

"I understand...I came to a similar conclusion a year ago." Akane gentled her voice. It wasn't easy standing up to an entity that they'd been raised to trust and obey. Despite her own misgivings about Sibyl, Akane occasionally felt a pang of guilt. What kept her going was the memory of the people she'd failed...and of the people she hoped to protect. One of whom was hiding in her bedroom. She shifted her eyes over to her bedroom door, wondering what Kogami was thinking.

Mika looked up, her tone sharpening. "So you are planning something."

Akane chewed her lip, eyes sliding to the side. Could she trust her? After everything? She wanted to, but fear rendered her silent. Fear of her plans being compromised. Fear of losing the people she loved. Even now, she was still unsure if it was worth the risk.

"I know I might not seem like the most trustworthy person, but I want to fix that." Mika continued as if reading her mind.

"Prove it."

Mika jumped in alarm at the sound of a man's husky voice. 

Akane whipped her head in the direction of her bedroom. Kogami casually leaned against the door frame. His dark eyes were narrowed, their laser focus pinning Mika like a bug on a board. Based on Mika's pale face, Akane suspected it was the same intimidating expression he'd given Captain Titor. "You are going to have to prove your loyalty before Akane even considers trusting you."

"Kogami!" Akane lightly admonished. 

He shrugged, never looking away from Mika. "It seemed like an all cards on the table kind of moment."

"Wait. Kogami? As in Shinya Kogami? The former enforcer who went AWOL?" Mika repeated in surprise. She only knew him by reputation and a few of Akane's case files she'd dug up. He was well renown as an excellent inspector before his demotion. From the tidbits she'd heard from the others, Kogami as an enforcer was legendary. Wild and ruthless. Few had been able to work with him successfully...except for Akane.

He arched a brow at Akane. "Apparently, I'm famous."

"He's why you were gone, isn't it?" Mika concluded, looking to Akane for confirmation.