14 Chapter 14: Cleaning up (3)

Katya recoiled in shock as Touya stood there unconsciously touching his lips…an accidental kiss, it would be humiliating if he wasn't so out of it.

"Wh-what are you doing!?" screamed Katya abandoning her pretenses as she touched her own lips, her color as red as a tomato.

She had just kissed him…her brain stopped and then restarted again.

"I'm sorry," he said unconsciously, not sounding the least bit sorry at all.

"Yo-you…I…you kissed me?" Katya wanted to pummel him and run away from him at the same time, two contradicting emotions vied for her attention.

"I said I'm sorry didn't I," he said regaining himself as he watched on amused at the array of emotions the man was displaying, a man that beginning to look more and more like a woman to him for some reason.

Frowning he reached out with his hands towards her general chest area but suddenly stopped. That was a very stupid idea, he thought to himself, there had to be a better way to figure this out. It was an action that went unnoticed by the mortified Katya, had she however seen it, her emotions would have been clearer.

"Shall we go?" he asked with a smile.

"You kissed me," she said again.

"I did…" he said. "An accident."

"You…" started Katya again when she noticed Touya's face was right up in her face, yet again.

"Seriously," he said as she gulped. "I will kiss you again and this time mean it, if you repeat that sentence once more."

"You…are you gay?" she asked so suddenly he nearly slipped.

Amused he turned around, "What makes you think that?"

"I'm a man," she said.

He nodded, still with questions about that, "And this was an accident."

"Look, you need to let this go," he said. "I'm sure you've kissed others."

Katya frowned at that, yes, she had but not like this. She had kissed men before obviously, well one but after that her love life was a barren desert, she didn't have the time necessary with running of the gang, dressing up as Xander, running around beating up people and then looking after her siblings.

"I have," she said slowly and he froze, he wasn't expecting an answer like that.

"You've kissed men before?" he asked again.

"Yes," she answered unconsciously but then paused as she mulled over that statement in her head.

She's kissed men before, and she is dressed up as a man, damn. She quickly looked at Touya who was looking at her curiously.

"Are you gay?" he asked returning her question to her.

In this instance, dressed like this, it would certainly seem like that if she answered in the positive to kissing men before. At this point she felt she was digging a deeper hole for herself.

"You know what, let's just walk and put our personal matters as personal," she said, pushing forward with sudden vigour.

Touya followed without asking questions, mulling over the information he had in his head. Was Xander gay, if that was the case then he might have a…damn it, he needed to get his head out of the gutter. Focus on what he was actually here for and worry about the rest later. He walked up and past the scanners unconsciously as it beeped. He only came to as an officer put his hand on his chest.

"What?" he asked.

"Sir, are you carrying anything metallic, anything technological?" the officer asked. "Phones etc."

Touya frowned, was he carrying a phone…yes he was. He quickly took out his phone and showed it and the officer nodded.

"Spread you hands please," the officer said as he ran a scanner over him, checking him thoroughly.

He watched next to him as Katya was put through a similar test. The more he looked at it, the more the 'he' looked like a 'she'.

"Sir…you're done," said the officer and Touya turned around, glancing at him.

"Wha…what?" he asked.

"You're done sir, you're free to go on through," he said.

Touya nodded and then walked through rejoining with Katya on the other end.

***

"This is unbelievable…unbelievable," said an officer walking straight past Touya and Katya who had made their way up to where the supposed the questioning of Kriti Ramachandran was being held.

He walked straight up and kicked a wall hard enough that Touya was surprised the man's leg didn't break.

"Calm down," said another, this time a female officer approaching.

"She's leading us by our damn noses," he hissed turning around to face the female officer. "Every question, she's just turning it back on our heads."

"That's true," the female officer said with a wry smile. "From the way it's going she might spin it in way that makes everyone think that the police kidnapped the child."

Touya with a raised eyebrow looked at Katya who shrugged.

"How good is she as a psychiatrist?" he asked.

"Good enough to do this, apparently," she replied.

"I don't think we needed to come," said Touya.

"I'm thinking that as well."

They made their way into a room with several benches and some couches. It was in this room Katya had her next big surprise. Standing next to the water cooler with a plastic cup in hand was the person that had pulled a gun on her yesterday, the same scarred man, part of the Forest Snakes. He had been thrown by Quedell of the first floor of the warehouse but hear he was standing with nothing to show for it. The man's eyes widened as he saw Katya.

"Xa-Xander?" the man squeaked and Katya held back her, laughter, everytime, that voice never failed to surprise.

"Hello…" Katya paused mid-speech despite what had happened, she still didn't know this man's name. "Uh…someone."

Touya snorted in laughter at that and it was a humorous situation despite the seriousness or the fright the scarred man now showed at the sigh of her.

"Milad," he said.

"What?" she asked.

"Milad, it's my name."

"Milad, why are you here?" she asked though she already knew the answer to that.

He frowned and then with pointed to the rooms, sure enough he was here for the information on Jin, not that he had got anything thanks to Kriti.

"Milad, have you got anything from her?" a voice was sounded from behind, both Touya and Katya turned their heads to see who it was.

"No," said Milad.

The man glanced at Touya as he came by and he had for the moment made Katya extremely alert. Touya looked at him in interest. The man turned his gaze towards Katya as he examined her from top to bottom.

"White hair, that face and the black coat with the bandanna around the neck," he recounted. "You're Xander aren't you, leader of the prowlers."

"Yes," said Katya tensing herself, there was something about this man, was this man Wing?

"You are?" asked Touya asking the question Katya herself was about to ask.

The man gave a paused glance at Touya before he turned back to her.

"Ryan," said the man man with a head full of dirty blonde hair.

Katya looked over him again, he wasn't Wing, so what was it about him that just ticked her off, it wasn't the same feeling with Touya, no Touya was endearing, this man just shot sky high on her danger warning scale. He looked good enough, too good actually for gang related activities, the man was practically a model, well there was someone more good looking next to her but still the man gave of a somewhat ethereal feel and not in a good way. His eyes, they looked dead, as if he wasn't glancing at humans when he looked at them but at something much lesser. If Kriti was here, she could diagnose this man.

"I assumed Wing would be here," she said looking away from the man called Ryan.

"He was busy," Ryan dully answered. "We were sent instead."

Katya looked at him again, trying to figure this man out, was he just a loyal follower or an ambitious snake. Would she have to worry about this man in the negotiations with the Forest Snakes. Touya suddenly grabbed her by the hand and pulled her away from the two. Right now, they stood out of earshot from the two of the Forest Snakes.

"That man," said Touya nodding his head lightly towards Ryan.

Katya nodded, "Yes, he seems dangerous, Milad's a puppy compared to this one."

"Milad was never more than a puppy," snorted Touya looking at the man.

"He pulled a gun on us," pointed out Katya.

"Does it really matter?" he asked.

Katya frowned as she looked at the man in next to her. Guns it seemed didn't really matter to him, she put that thought aside for a moment as he looked at Milad and Ryan.

"Look, even Milad seems uncomfortable standing next to him," said Katya to which Touya nodded.

"He's not normal," Touya spoke. "If I'm not wrong about my psychology then he displays symptoms about psychopathy."

Suddenly the door to one of the rooms opened and Kriti came out, smiling and chatting apparently with the officer that was in the room with her.

"Well…we really didn't need to be here," said Touya with a smile.

Kriti suddenly spotted Katya and she ran up to her.

"Oh my god Ka-Xander," she said full on hugging Katya oblivious to the raised eyebrow from Touya.

Katya however was especially sensitive after that accidental kiss and she quickly pushed Kriti off of her.

"Keep your distance woman," she hissed causing Kriti to pout.

"I'll see you around doctor," said the officer as he walked past her to rejoin his two now exasperated colleagues.

"Will do, officer," said Kriti with a wide smile.

"What did you do in there?" Katya asked.

"I helped him out some of his problems," she said with a smirk. "Completely derailed the topic and we finished it off on why he can't properly convey his feelings in public."

Katya raised an eyebrow as Touya chortled.

"Well now, you didn't need our help, did you?" Katya asked.

"Nope," replied Kriti cheerily.

Katya saw the other two in the room, Milad and Ryan walk towards them. Milad had his eyes on them, Ryan however had it on the door past them. It was a sudden movement as they walked past but instantaneously Ryan had moved grabbing Kriti by the throat and pinning her up against the wall. It was like a bolt from blue, much akin to a snake Ryan struck.