Aftermath: Part One
Antonia Stark just had to grin, looking down with a certain amount of pride at the newspaper display at the airport terminal. She and the others had helped make those headlines, after all! 'Genom Chairman Arrested.' one banner headline read, 'Revolution in the Boardroom' was on another, 'Knight Sabers Revealed' and finally, 'Boomer recall!' What had happened just a few short days ago was still leaving shockwaves across all of Megatokyo.
"Thanks for seeing us off, cousin," Biko smiled at her warmly, the tall, blue haired woman offering Tony her hand.
"It's the least I could do," Antonia shook it firmly. She smiled at Biko and Aiko, "And I wanted to thank you both personally once again."
"Hey, we had a lot of fun," Aiko grinned. "I'd stick around to see the fall-out," the redhead sighed, "but our families want us home."
"Sylia wanted to be here, too," Antonia shrugged wryly, "but with everything that's been happening she's got her hands full."
The final boarding call rang through the terminal and Biko smiled as she said, "I think that's our flight." She reached out to put her hand on Tony's shoulder, "Take care of yourself, and tell the others we wish them well."
"Good luck," Aiko agreed as they headed off, the pair walking onto the plane.
Tony left the airport, leaning on her cane as she made her way outside where the car awaited. "Everything okay?" Mackie asked, his dark hair falling into his eyes.
"They're on their way safe and sound," Tony said as she climbed into the passenger side. She looked over at him curiously, "Are you really qualified to drive this thing?"
"Oh, yeah," Mackie chuckled as he slid them into traffic. He reported with a smile. "By the way, we finally heard back from the AD Police."
"So are they going to try to arrest Sylia for being involved with the Knight Sabers?" Tony asked, knowing from his smile that the news wasn't going to be bad.
"Nope," Mackie smiled wickedly, "the District Attorney's office had decided that there are extenuating circumstances."
"Circumstances like the fact that the police botched the murger investigation of Dr. Stingray," Tony said grimly, "and that an case against Sylia would bring all of that to light."
"And that Sylia is now one of the most powerful women in Megatokyo," Mackie added.
"You've got that right," Tony nodded, rolling the window down a bit to enjoy the breeze.
They drove on for a few minutes, then more seriously Mackie asked her, "So what are you going to do now?"
"Eh?" Tony looked at him in surprise.
"I care for my sister a great deal," Mackie kept his eyes on the road, a faint blush to his cheeks, "and I don't want to see Sylia hurt. If you plan to go back to America or something, tell her soon, don't let her get her hopes up."
"I'm not planning on going anywhere," Tony said firmly. She smiled at the young man, "I love your sister very much, and I hope we'll be together from now on."
"Good," Mackie sighed in relief as they began to ascend the roadway built around Genom's tower, moving up to the corporate levels.
Reaching the right level they both got out of the car, moving into the building itself. "Well," Sylia looked up with a smile as they entered her office, "how do I look?" She got up out of her chair, turning to model the metalic gray business suit she was in.
"Marvelous," Tony murmured, not even looking at her suit. Instead, her gaze was totally focused on Sylia's face.
There was a soft knock on the door, and Sylia's new secretary came in. She had short black hair, and wore large, round glasses that slid down her nose. "Here's the documents you asked for, Ms. Stingray," Nako beamed. Sylia took them, and the girl left with a smile.
"So what happened to Madigan?" Mackie asked curiously.
"Well, after I opened up Genom's files to the AD Police, they have a shopping list of charges to go after Quincy with," Sylia said, "and Madigan has agreed to testify in exchange for clemency in her own court cases."
"Well, she did help him pull a lot of that stuff off," Mackie noted.
"And now the fun part begins," Sylia sighed, "I have to clean out the rot in this company before I do anything else, and I could use some help."
"I'm not going anywhere," Tony reassured her. She paused, "I've made the decision to move the Stark corporate headquarters here, from now on."
"Oh, Tony," Sylia hugged her, being careful not to knock her lover over. They held each other close for a moment while she softly said, "I'm so glad."
"I'll be here," Mackie chuckled, "and I think the others will back you up, too."
"They have their lives," Sylia reminded him while still encircled in Tony's arms, "but I know they'll do all they can."
In another part of the city, Linna felt her lips pulling into a smile as she saw her, waiting outside her office building once again. "You know, people are going to talk," she offered as she walked to the woman leaning on the sports car.
Reika Chang just grinned at her, "Good, I don't mind the idea of people talking about us." She gave her an impish look, "Wanna give them something to really talk about?"
Linna laughed softly, hugging Reika close to her. "I'm just glad that no one knows you're the singer Vision," she murmured into her ear, "I think there's members of your fanclub that would kill to be me right about now."
Reika opened the passenger door for her, then went around to the driver's side. "Speaking of Vision.." Reika trailed off.
"Yes?" Linna asked, looking over at Reika worriedly.
"You know I've been touring less often," Reika said as she started up the car, "and I can record my albums where I want to." She looked over at Linna, "Do you think you could help find a place for a mostly homeless singer?"
Linna hesitated, feeling a smile tugging on her lips again. "Oh, I think I could find room in my apartment," she finally said.
"I know this is all been kind of sudden," Reika focused on the road, moving through the traffic, "but this is all very serious to me."
"Me, too," Linna agreed. She put her hand on Reika's on the wheel, "This is all pretty new to me, but I want to explore this."
"You know I'd love to help you explore," Reika gave her a dangerous smile as she dropped her voice down to a sexy purr.
"I'm being serious," Linna slapped Reika's arm. She sat back in her seat, looking up at the car's roof, "I think I love you."
Reika froze looking over at her, then the screech of wheels reminded her to keep her eyes on the road. "Sorry," Reika blushed, "I've just been trying to figure out how, exactly to say that!"
"Good enough," Lina shifted over, putting her head on Reika's shoulder.
"So what are your friends the Angelic Layer Deus doing?" Reika asked as they drove towards Linna's apartment building.
Linna chuckled softly as she revealed, "It seems that they're keeping the Saber Dolls. Sylia is putting them on a substantial retainer, to keep them available to back us up in case something else happens, which it probably will."
"So the Knight Sabers are continuing after all this," Reika said thoughtfully. She sat there a moment then smiled, "Good."
"Good?" Linna looked a bit surprised.
"Not that I really want to see you risking life and limb," Reika continued on, "but in an odd way being a Knight Saber suits you. You wouldn't be you without it."
"Maybe so," Linna agreed as they pulled up in front of the apartment. She gave Reika a smile, "Would you care to join me, tonight?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Reika laughed.
To be continued....
Deviant Hearts Archive | Back to main index