Note: Continuation of the "Trust" Arc. Picks up where "Strength" left off. We consider this more the suspense-filled part of the Arc, so less sap and less angst than "Strength."

Broken Trust

Chapter 1 - Old lies and Kritiker

A story by ~Solaris~

Disclaimer: We don't own any characters in this fic.

Hands folded in his lap, his eyes staring straight ahead, even as light reflected off the glasses he wore. He kept his cool demeanor, but his insides were cold. He didn't like what he had just heard, not in the least. He looked up once more at the redhead.

"And you are certain of this?" Brad Crawford asked, voice leveled, ever the businessman. The redhead nodded slowly, trying to decipher some emotions from Crawford. But when even Schuldich cannot, how could anyone without telepathic capabilities?

"I am sure of it, Crawford." Manx replied, then sighed. "My own life is on the line, even as I tell you this. After all, Kritiker doesn't appreciate their secretaries handing out information to outside sources." Crawford raised an eyebrow.

He wouldn't exactly call this 'handing out information' considering the time and effort he put in to actually extract all this from Manx. Not to mention the fact that she had just called him 'outside sources' as if he didn't know the dirty tidbits about Kritiker, being employed by it for nearly two years now.

"What are they going to do about it?"

"What else? They can't exactly assassinate Hidaka, Tsukiyono and Kudou in the public eye, besides, Weiss was our best assassin team...they can easily kill anyone else Kritiker send for them."

"No one in Kritiker has the power and influence Weiss had, that I have to agree. You did fail to mention Fujimiya, however."

"I won't even start with him, he'd probably take out the entire team in one go if he ever found out Kritiker was trying to kill of Hidaka and his friends."

"I have no doubt."

"The problem is, Crawford, that they did break Kritiker's code. They failed to mention that they were covering up for Ran and even though Fujimiya should receive punishment for that, they think Weiss' act is more severe."

"What are we looking at, Manx?" Crawford asked, looking at her in the eye this time. There was no way she was going to lie to him now.

"I think they're pulling a broken trust on them, Crawford." Manx replied with a sigh and looked away. Crawford nodded and looked out the window to the Los Angeles skyline. He had been there for over two weeks, calling the whole thing a 'business trip.' In a way, it was, but it had started with something else.

He found out something was going on with Kritiker when he was still with Ken, he had stumbled upon the information almost by accident and would have dismissed it completely if it hadn't mentioned Weiss' name. It looked like an innocent file, possibly an old mission file.

Fortunately, Crawford noticed the date on the file. It was the date that Fujimiya had stormed through the Schreint hideout, not knowing that his teammates were fighting them just a few blocks away instead of finishing an assigned mission. Crawford's eyes narrowed as he opened the file, only for a feeling of dread to replace his usual business-like manner.

"Fuck." He swore in his native language, cursing himself again for his slip. He carefully stored the file away and his resolve was set. He had to leave Ken, let him start whatever it is that the brunet would like to start with Fujimiya and he had to extract information from Manx.

At the thought of Ken, Crawford closed his eyes. It had been the hardest thing he ever had to do, leaving the brunet behind. Crawford had left all that was left of his heart in Japan and he had to go back there soon, not to reclaim it, but to save the very person he was protecting, along with his teammates.

As much as he hated to admit it, the former members of Weiss had grown on him...well, besides Ken that is. The kid was alright and Kudou was too, to a tolerable degree. The playboy had Schuldich to distract him.

He stood up from his chair, causing Manx to look up. "I'm leaving for Japan." He said simply and headed for the door.

"Crawford," He paused in his tracks. "Keep them safe." Crawford nodded once and walked out of the room. The redhead secretary sat down on a nearby chair and buried her face in her hands. She had thought, a long time ago, that she was working for the 'good guys,' unfortunately for her, in this world...there are no 'good guys.'

The shop was full, as usual, when Crawford called. Ken was the closest to the phone, holding a vase of lavender in one hand and picking the phone up with the other.

"Koneko no sumu ie, how may I help you?"

"Ken." The brunet nearly dropped the vase he was holding, so he set it on the counter, face lighting up in recognition.

"Brad!" Heads turned and attention was drawn to the brunet. Schuldich walked over to where Ken was, eager to eavesdrop. "Haven't heard from you since you left! Where have you been?"

"I'm still in Los Angeles, but I'm heading back today." Ken paused, frowning. He noticed there was something different about Crawford's tone of voice.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, looking up at the others. They had gathered around Ken, by this time. "You sound a little weird."

"I can't explain. Whatever you do, tell the others not to accept any missions, is that clear?"

"Nani? Brad, what are you-"

"Just trust me on this, Ken." That feeling of dread was back and as much as Ken hated to admit it, something bad was going to happen. His instincts has never let him down before. He caught Omi's eyes and the younger assassin had the same look on his face.

"They found out, didn't they?" Ken asked in a low voice. The arm he hadn't realized had been wrapped around his waist tightened. He looked up at Ran's worried face.

There was a sigh on the other line. "Yes, they did." Ken closed his eyes and taking this as a confirmation, both Omi and Youji had grave looks on their faces. Even Schuldich looked a tad worried, but he realized that there was a shop full of teenage girls who were witnessing this scene. He quickly rushed to the other side, pretending to be eager to help them, dragging Nagi along with him.

"Now what?" Ken asked, more to Youji and Omi than to Crawford.

"We'll think of a plan. They're not getting their hands on the three of you. Ever." Crawford said harshly, his tone set as he hung up. Hearing the dial tone, Ken hung up as well and he looked up at Ran.

"Now what?" He asked again, voice softer. Not caring that they were in plain view, the redhead drew him in his arms.

"We'll fight this together." Murmured Ran, even though he was unsure himself. But it was his fault that they're in this mess and he'll fight to the death to get them back out. He knew, they all knew, if anyone dared to defy Kritiker...death is the price.

Chapter 2 – One thing to do

Disclaimer: We don't own any of the characters

It was such a cliché, he thought silently, for the meeting to take place in such a dark warehouse. He muttered curses under his breath as he hugged his coat tighter against himself. There was something that he didn't quite understand, why did it have to be him?

Brown eyes flickered back and forth from the watch he had on to the entrance of the warehouse. He was supposed to meet with the informant an hour ago and quite frankly, he was getting a little pissed. He looked down at his running shoes in dismay. He hadn't accounted for the sudden change in weather, the downpour of rain that came as suddenly as the mysterious call.

"Come on." He muttered, stuffing his hands into his jeans pocket. He stood slightly on his tiptoes, stretching the muscles in his calves. He felt the tight clench as the muscles stretch to the limit. Unconsciously his mind switched into training mode and he reached his arms in the air and stretched them too.

He yawned slightly when he felt the wonderful stretch, but then quickly lower his arms back down. Focus. Yes, he must focus on the mission and only on the mission. But upon recalling his objective, he reverted to his initial foul mood.

"Damn it." He cursed under his breath. "Stupid meeting." He closed his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips. Why was he here again? Memories of the past couple of days rush back into his mind.

Brad. The American's homecoming was met with both joy and trepidation. Joy, because he was back and he looked all right. Trepidation, at what Brad's arrival signifies. It was finally time. Time to act before Kritiker can launch an attack on its own assassin team.

He shivered. Yes, despite the fact that they were part of Kritiker's top assassin team, they were to be terminated just because they broke one of Kritiker's rules, over a year ago. Kritiker is, after all, still an underground organization. They don't have the rules that have been established by society. One of the first rules of society is, after all, 'Thou shall not kill.' Even though all these years they believed that Kritiker was the lesser evil, in the end it was the same. It was truly ironic and if it didn't involve dire matters, Ken would have found it funny.

A sound jolted him out of his ponderings as his assassin instincts kicked in. He squinted his eyes, determined to distinguish some sort of movement in the shadows of the warehouse. He reprimanded himself for not obscuring himself from view, but then remembered that he was to stand in the light, make himself seen. It was one of the conditions of meeting. Suddenly, the light perturbed him. If he was seen and yet whoever nameless person was hidden from sight, he was at a disadvantage. If he were attacked, he had no way of retaliating. How could he, if he couldn't see where his opponent is?

"Relax, Siberian." An somewhat familiar voice said, that didn't make it any less dangerous. It could be anyone.

'Yeah, right.' Thought Ken, 'As if I can relax when I'm a sitting duck...' As if the person could read his mind, a figure appeared from the shadows.

Ken recognized her immediately, muscles relaxing and he let out the breath he had been holding.

"Birman."

"Hello Ken."

"You're my informant?" Ken asked, raising an eyebrow even as he folded his arms. She surveyed the area with her keen eyes. It was only when she was satisfied that she replied.

"Yes, I am."

"Why all the secrecy then?" What Ken really wanted to ask, of course, was "Why the hell did you make me go through all this?" But he didn't voice that question, although from the

"Because my life is on the line, as well as yours." Birman pointed out. "You have to remember, Hidaka, that Kritiker will not be pleased if it knew what you and your team are conspiring."

"It's not like we have a choice." Muttered Ken. "We're in this position because of Kritiker. It was only that one time that we disobeyed an order."

"It doesn't matter, you and I know that. Liquidation of the people involved is the first step to eliminating this from the database. Kritiker cannot afford any mistakes nor any backstreet missions handled by its assassin teams."

"Well that's rich. It's a damn underground organization for fuck sake, why can't we do something underground for ourselves?"

"Exactly that. It's an underground organization, which cannot afford to be above ground. If the authorities found out about Kritiker's existence, a lot of people will end up in jail or worse."

"So it's protecting its own skin by not allowing its teams to get caught while doing one of their own missions, by eliminating them before they do it?"

"Yes."

"But we've DONE the mission. It was successful, no one found out!"

"It doesn't matter. If word gets out to the other teams, they'd start doing their own missions too and when one of them gets caught....you can fill in the blanks."

"But that's crazy! They're using us a bloody example?"

"Hey, life's a bitch."

"You've got that right. Fuck."

"As far as I can see, you only have one chance." Birman said calmly.

"And what is that?"

"Persia doesn't know about this yet. One a couple of high Kritiker officials and they're conducting their own investigations, Manx and myself are in hot waters right now. We're both responsible for handing over the mission tapes to all of you. But we do know the names of the officials that are investigating your case."

"What exactly are you proposing?" Ken asked suspiciously, although he had a pretty good idea as to what Birman was getting at.

"Eliminate those X factors and Persia and the other teams will never know."

"Kill our own guys?!" Shouted Ken. "Are you insane?" He hissed.

"I should point out that they are willing to kill you and your two friends. Am I insane? I would have asked you the same thing when you three put your asses on the line for Fujimiya's little ego trip." Brown eyes flashed with a sudden red.

"It wasn't an ego trip. He had to go rescue his sister."

"Of course. But all alone? Without anyone's help?" Birman narrowed her eyes. "I'd say he's a little too confident with himself. And the fact that he actually believed that he succeeded in that solo mission is arrogance enough."

"I can't disagree that his actions were reckless, but I would have done the same thing." Keen eyes stared at him and Birman shook her head.

"You don't seem the type. Sure, you're brash and I know you question authority at times, but in the end you always follow the orders. You know it when you're out of line, Hidaka and you stop yourself, a sign of a true soldier."

"I'm a fucking assassin, not a soldier. There is a difference." Ken said bitterly.

"That's where you're wrong, Hidaka." Birman said calmly. "All of Kritiker's assassins are soldiers. Kritiker's soldiers. What we are is nothing more than a private army, someone pays us the right sum of money and we do exactly what they tell us to do."

"Oh sure, that makes me feel LOADS better." Ken said sarcastically.

"I honestly don't care what that makes you feel. But hear this, eliminating the four Kritiker officials are your only chance. And I know Fujimiya isn't ready to let you go any time soon." She struck a chord and she knew it. Ken bit his lip, refraining himself from lashing out on her. She reached under her coat and pulled out a rather thick binder, handing it out to Ken.

"These are all the information that you need. Whether or not you act upon my suggestion is entirely up to you." She turned around and began to walk away.

"What's in it for you?" Ken asked, watching her retreating form. She paused, looking at him from the corner of her eyes.

"You're the best assassin team Kritiker's got. It would be a total waste if three of you were eliminated, because you and I know that your other teammates would never stand for that. We can't afford to lose eight remarkable assassins."

"So it's just business then."

"It's always just business, Siberian."

...to be continued