Ritsuko Akagi's fingers seemed to fly across the two terminals as she worked away, the dyed blonde looking back and forth between the screens with data streaming by on both. Switching over to one hand she reached out and grabbed her cup of coffee and took a long drink, not really noticing that it had gone stone cold. "Dr. Akagi?" Maya asked softly, the brown haired young woman walking in to the room to stand respectfully to one side, carrying in a set of reports. "Thank you," Ritsuko didn't look away from her work, but her voice was gentle as she welcomed her in. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Maya asked curiously as the boyish young woman set the documents and disks down. "I'm fine," Ritsuko smiled, "just finishing up some programming for the Unit 00 reactivation tests. I shouldn't be long." "All right," Maya lingered for a moment, then reluctantly left. After working a few minutes more Ritsuko finished up, logging out of the program then removing a disk from the drive, slipping it into a protective carrier and putting it in her white labcoat's pocket. Pressing a key on the terminal sent another command out, this time going to the complex's security system. 'That'll stop Gendo from seeing the looped images I recorded of me working away,' a smiling Ritsuko thought as she stretched tiredly, 'rather than what I was really doing. Thank goodness Maya didn't insist on staying.' Just like every other day Ritsuko made her way over to the elevators, rising up from the underground facility of NERV to the surface, then on to the commuter train out to the apartment that she and Misato lived in. She went inside, reaching to flip on the lights then Ritsuko smiled as she felt a familiar presence inside. "Is that you, love?" Misato called out. She looked up in greeting from where she sat at the dining room table, the black haired woman casually sorting their mail. "Hi, love," Ritsuko answered. Gesturing Misato to silence she crossed to the kitchen and took a small device from where they had hidden it, activating a switch and instantly shutting down any bugs within one hundred feet. "Is that necessary?" Misato blinked in alarm. Ritsuko took the disks out of her pocket as she said to her excitedly, "I think I've got it, or at least some of it." Hearing that Misato got up, her eyes narrowed in thought. "Then we'd better check it out," she said seriously. "Lets," Ritsuko agreed and both women headed to the computer they kept in the bedroom. "I downloaded the entirety of one of Gendo's private memory archives," she revealed, "but other than that I don't know what's in it." "I can't believe the man is hiding his secure files on the Magi," Misato said as she led the way into their bedroom. Ritsuko activated the computer, waiting a moment for it to start up before sliding the disks in. Mildly she said, "Considering the pure volume of data in the Magi he probably figured that no one would be able to find the archive." Antivirus and decryption programs activated, scanning the content of the disk and going to work. "And he doesn't know that we're trying to find out what's really going on," Misato added quietly. She looked at Ritsuko fondly, "What convinced you to listen to Kaji, by the way?" Ritsuko tapped the keyboard, unleashing a second series of decryption systems. "Probably getting a look at the real budget," she confessed, "and seeing the sheer amount of money and resources he's plugging into black projects with no one overseeing him." "I still remember the first time you showed me Adam," Misato murmured thoughtfully as they waited for the computer to finish, "seeing that thing impaled on the cross beneath NERV... it felt like my blood ran cold." "Tell me about it," Ritsuko agreed grimly. There was a soft chime as the programs finished their work and both women leaned forward as the archive opened automatically. A series of pop-up windows appeared on the screen, each one for a different section of the archive, and they began to scan them intently. "His personal journal," Misato noted, "a report to or from something called SEELE and private correspondence between Gendo and Fuyutsuki." "Which do you want to look at first?" Ritsuko asked. "The journal," Misato said after a moment's thought, "if he really thinks it's private he might spill something important." "Got it," Ritsuko clicked on the journal, the two quickly scanning it. Much of the entries were things they already knew, including the development of the Evangelion Units and the various negotiations involved with NERV, but there were interesting details imbedded in there. Misato blinked as a very personal reference smacked her between the eyes, "Gendo tried to get you to sleep with him?" "I did tell you about it," Ritsuko said mildly. "Maybe, but it's extremely creepy reading it from his point of view," Misato growled out. She scowled, "That slimy little..." Ritsuko gently put her hand on her lover's arm, "Trust me love, you have nothing to worry about." A smile, "Even if I wasn't committed to you, knowing he had slept with my mom too would have put me off." "Creep," Misato nodded. Her eyes widened as she read a passage, "Gendo ordered the sabotage of the JA prototype?" Ritsuko nodded thoughtfully, "They never could explain why that robot went out of control during the test... or why the reactor overloaded." "But why?" Misato asked, "The machine was clunky, even if they could have gotten it operational it couldn't match Evangelion." "Maybe, but I doubt Gendo would take the chance," Ritsuko sighed. "Guess you're right," Misato agreed. Choosing to close the journal for now they scanned the file on SEELE, but neither could make heads or tails of the rambling document. "What is the Alternate?" Ritsuko pointed to one passage where it almost seemed like Gendo was arguing with the mysterious person or group, "And why do they need Adam's DNA for?" "Do you really expect me to answer that?" Misato blinked, sitting back and rubbing her eyes. "We know Rei has Adam's DNA..." Ritsuko mused. Her eyes narrowed, "Are they trying to create another clone?" "Why," Misato asked, "we already have Rei?" She chuckled humorlessly, "Hell, we have a bin full of them in the basement." Ritsuko made a face, "Part of Gendo's damn dummy plug project." She shook her head firmly and got back on topic, "Maybe creating a clone for a new purpose? They could be trying to communicate with the Angels." "Would be nice to know why they're attacking," Misato conceded. "Well, let's see what the professor has to say," Ritsuko murmured as she clicked the mouse on the third window. Just then they heard the door open and Shinji call out, "I'm home!" "Shit," Misato quickly closed the windows and popped out the disk. Ritsuko quickly concealed the disk then she and Misato hurried out of the bedroom just as Shinji came around the corner. A faint blush colored the young woman's face, "Uhm, if you want I can go out for awhile." "Hmm?" Ritsuko blinked. Misato chuckled faintly as she realized what sort of assumption Shinji had come to. "Not today," she smiled, "but I may ask later." "No problem," Shinji headed into her room. "What was that about?" Ritsuko frowned, most of her mind still occupied with what they had been reading. Misato laughed, "I think Shinji believes she interrupted us in the act, so to speak."
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