The door was flung open and Loid charged into the hangar, Yor right behind him. Anya still held onto him, not wanting to let go.
Loid had run after the director, tearing off without an explanation. Yor taking it in stride to follow him, still rather confused.
But the hangar was empty.
All the vehicles were taken and a couple of boxes were strewn about the area.
"What's going on?" Yor asked, noticing his fervent behaviour.
He growled in frustration. "He's gone. The director escaped."
He couldn't believe he'd let this happen! He was right there!
Loid thought, his anger directed at himself as well. His feelings were seemingly contagious as Anya felt Yor's attitude shift.
Something akin to when she attacked Loid.
Anger that anyone had the gall to create such an abominable institution. They deserved to die. She'd kill the director if she ever got her hands on him.
Loid turned back to her as she seethed inside, imagining the ways she'd rip out his innards. She was so consumed with her violent thoughts, she didn't immediately notice Loid's eyes go wide as the door to her back banged open. A pause before someone called out her name.
"YOR?!" Her little brother exclaimed.
"YURI?!" Yor spun around.
The SSS agent looked to the man standing behind his sister.
"LOIDY!!!!" Yuri thundered next as a finger pointed in angry accusation mixed with shock. The sound bounced off the expansive room.
"Unkie!"
"Chihuahua?!" Yuri gaped, trying to understand what was happening right now.
Loid and Yor didn't know how to respond either.
They all froze in place, waiting for someone else to move first. Say something first. Explain first. No one knew what to do.
Anya wondered if she should speak up, but she'd never been more entertained, despite the circumstances.
The siblings stared at each other, trying to decipher one another's motives. Breaking down what they knew about the person. What they could possibly be doing here.
That's when Yor noticed the binders and files in Yuri's hands. The fake ID badge around his neck. The get-up that the lab agents wore.
He had snuck in, she realized. This was planned out and carefully prepared. He knew what he was doing.
At the same time, Yuri was sizing up Yor and Loid. Yor's dress spotted with red. Loid, in an agents disguise like him. Anya, watching the three interact.
Yuri knew there were dead agents in the halls. Slit throats, wounds to vital organs and bleeding out. Yor couldn't possibly be a part of that could she?
"Uh. . ." Yor said eloquently. "Yuri. . ." She began to piece it together. "Are you- are you part of the SSS!?" Yor asked incredulous. It was the only thing that made sense. Why else would he be here? Did he get the SSS agents in? But wouldn't he have told her if he was? She began to doubt herself until Yuri's face turned deathly pale.
"Yuri!?" Yor exclaimed. 'Was he really SSS?!' How did she not know about this?!
He didn't answer. He had become a block of stone. The shock of what she just said. He was unable to even deny it, though he very much wanted to.
'How did she guess?! How did this happen? Why is she here? Can I convince her that I'm not!? Will she disown me? Will she hate me? All the dirty work I do, she'll definitely think less of me. How do I respond? Can I respond? I don't think my mouth is working. How do I fix this?' Yuri spiralled.
Loid and Yor stood awkwardly, waiting for Yuri to speak and his silence was more incriminating than if he spoke.
Unsure of what to do, Yor glanced over at Loid, who also seemed to be at a loss. He didn't expect her to pick up on this if he was being honest. He was more worried how he was going to get himself out of this.
"Yuri. . " Yor raised a hand, taking a couple steps forward. "Are you alright? What's wrong?" She asked, her brother standing frozen in the doorway, his eyes wide and panicking. Face white and petrified. A hand was still on the door, keeping it open.
Her words were like an angel speaking to him. Divinity shining down on him, the grace of heaven. 'Could it be?' He dared to hope. 'She's not angry?!' And felt overwhelming joy at the thought.
"You're. . . not mad?" He managed to croak out, more on the edge of tears than he thought.
"Mad?! No! Of course not! I wish I'd known, but why would I be mad?!" Yor strode up to him taking a hand in both of hers.
Yuri hung his head, feeling every bit the little brother caught red-handed. "The kind of work I do. I didn't want you to know."
"Oh. . .Yuri." She breathed, feeling happy and sad at the same time. "I don't care about that." She sniffled, wrapping her arms around him to crush him in a hug.
"SIS!" He sobbed into her neck, hugging her back. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have kept it a secret from you!"
"Shhh." Yor patted his back. "It's okay."
Yuri was right, he thought. His sis was the most amazing person in the world.
Loid sweat dropped.
"Can we go home, now?" Anya asked.
"That's right!" Yuri suddenly composed, pointed aggressively at Loid as he regretfully let go of his sister. "What are you doing here?! You are a spy, aren't you?!" Yuri accused, one hundred percent sure he had him.
"No." Loid answered calmly.
"Yuri, it's okay! He's not a spy! He came to help me!" Yor lied, moving to stand in front of him again. "We came to get Anya, that's all."
'Mama's a liar.' Anya thought.
Loid didn't like Yor taking the hit for him, but if he was compromised, Operation Strix was compromised, which meant that war might very well happen. And he knew Yuri would never do anything that would cause problems for Yor.
"Sis!" Yuri took her by the shoulders. "What if you got hurt? You can't be doing things like that!"
He looked at Anya.
"Also, how did you manage that?!" He asked her. He wanted to ask so many more questions. Ask about the blood spatters on her clothes. The dead lab agents that his team promised weren't them. But Yor's attention turned to the door, apprehensively.
"Yuri." Yor took a hand off her shoulder and held it once more. She carried a serious tone.
"We have to go. We can't be found. I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone we were here." She asked.
"What? Why?"
"Just promise! I'll explain later. Please, Yuri." She said again.
Yuri was torn. He DID NOT trust Loid. He should be turned into the SSS. Possibly executed. But his sister was asking for help. And he could never refuse that. Even if it meant pushing aside his own need for answers. Yor could be trying to take over the world, and he'd help her. He sighed and rubbed his face. "Alright. But leave the kid with me. I don't know how I'd explain to my superiors that she's somehow safe but none of us found, or even saw her."
Yor was hesitant to agree to this. She just got Anya back, she didn't want her out of her sight for a second.
But this was her brother. She trusted him. She'd asked for his help, and this is what he needed to make this work. Not to mention, any questions would probably lead back to them, anyway.
Yor turned to Loid.
He didn't like this either. But he understood and nodded.
They all looked to Anya, who gripped her father's shirt like he was her life-line. "Anya wants to stay with Papa and Mama." She buried her face in his shirt again.
"It'll be alright, Chihuahua." Yuri said. "As soon as we get back to town, we'll call them right away. You'll see them real soon."
Anya looked at him skeptically. Then to Loid, who nodded again encouragingly. She didn't like this one bit. But even she knew it could cause problems if she didn't cooperate. "K . ." Anya said. She reluctantly released Loid as she was was shifted over to Yuri. Loid glaring daggers at him in warning.
"Right." Yuri coughed, turning back to the door.
"Take good care of her." Yor said worriedly, hearing Yuri's team nearing the area.
He nodded. He could never fail his sister like that. He waited until they had disappeared safely into the darkness of the woods before returning inside.