The Fall

Chapter Thirteen

Peter thought that Japan was a quite strange country. As someone who used to watch anime, however, he didn't mind some of the eccentricities.

"Be back at the hotel by eight," Travis told Peter as he was leaving the hallway. Peter jumped in surprise as his friend stuck his head out the door. Jeez, it was like Travis had super senses. "Right, we'll be back."

"Is that when we go over?" Janet asked quietly, not meeting Travis's eyes and staying behind Peter.

Travis nodded slowly. "Yes... we'll head over to the rendezvous point, and you can enter the code. That should give us the database we need. And then..." his voice faded a little. "Then we come back here and wait for instructions."

Taking Janet's hand, Peter gave Travis a thumbs up before the two headed down the hall to the elevator shaft.

Travis watched them for a moment, then ducked back into his room. Letting out a breath he hadn't meant to hold, he walked in to see Rita slumped in a chair, the remote in her hand, scrolling through the channel options. Travis smiled a little, but it was short lived. "Rita, this is no time to mess around. Tonight is a very important night."

Rita sighed and threw the remote down, leaving the TV on a news channel. "I know. Do we have a plan?"

"I talked to Number One earlier, on the phone," Travis answered, sitting down on the edge of the bed and allowing the mattress to droop under his weight. "She'll give us the access code, then we'll have all the information about the ED officials. Maybe then the PSA will be able to make a proper case against them. Janet will be immediately neutralized and taken away, to be handed over to the CIA." His dark brown eyes moved back to Rita, who leaned her head against the arm of her chair; the epitome of lazy. "I doubt we will see her ever again." He let that phrase hang in the air for a moment; a phrase tinged with relief, but also dread.

"What about Peter?" Rita said quietly.

"He will forget about her, eventually."

~

Janet had been very quiet since they had arrived in Japan. Peter stared at her from across the table, where they sat in some small cafe-like establishment. Both of his hands were on the table, a warm cup of tea nested between them. Janet did not meet his gaze, and her hands laid in her lap, making a weak fist from time to time. 

"... After you type in the code, we'll go back to the hotel," Peter finally said. "Then... I'll cause a distraction, giving you time to slip away."

Janet nodded slowly, her eyes finally rising to meet his. "Alright. Make sure Travis and Rita are occupied for a while... it'll give me time to get far away, and cover my tracks." She sighed and finally took hold of her cup, lazily bringing it to her lips.

Peter scratched behind his ear, nodding. "Right." He watched as she drank, almost in amazement. Every movement she made was so controlled, so calculated. Never before had he met someone who moved like that, someone so wise. Someone who could only be controlled by herself.

"Janet?"

"Yeah?"

"Where will I find you?"

Janet paused, thinking. Weighing the odds. 

"France."

"Paris?"

She shook her head. "No. I hate cities. You'll find me in the east, in the country. Some little town where no one knows me. Where I can just go out to the market, buy some homemade bread, some goat cheese or something like that." She finally cracked a smile. "Why? You can't risk coming to visit."

Peter shrugged, a smile growing on his face as well. "I don't know... but it's a risk I'd be willing to take."

One of his hands left the cup, turning over, palm extended up. Janet immediately moved her hand to meet his, her gaze moving out the window as their fingers weaved together. Even in this moment of peace, she did not want to show him the look of uncertainty that had grown in her eyes.

"Good."