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Company of Wolves

-Chapter Zero:

Shinji Ikari stared out his hotel room window and sipped his coffee. He winced at the acidic taste and frowned as something exploded somewhere close. "What a pain in the ass." Down on the street two men dashed from an alleyway. One of them was carrying the unmistakable bulky form of a rocket launched. He dropped to a knee and the second man glanced behind them before tapping his partner's helmeted head.

The anti-tank gunner fired and Shinji's head twisted sharply as he tried to follow the path of the rocket. He watched it slam into the rear of an APC as the vehicle's back doors dropped to disgorge the soldiers inside. Shinji was forced to look away as the armored vehicle exploded violently. He looked at it carefully and spotted a red triangle painted on it. "Rebel forces." His cell phone vibrated suddenly and he poked the call button on his Bluetooth headset. "Shinji Ikari speaking. How may I help you?"

"It's me," the man on the other end of the line stated.

"Hey Kaji," Shinji replied as he sipped his coffee. He turned away as a burning form staggered out of the wreck. "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you about the job for the Agency," Kaji Ryoji stated.

"I'm all over it," Shinji replied as he drained his coffee and tossed the Styrofoam cup in the trash. He reached into his duffel bag and pulled out the old leather shoulder holster holding his even older suppressed PB pistol. Shinji shrugged the holster on and dug a couple clips out of his bag too.

"I don't know if you've heard, but the rebels have sprung their coup earlier than anticipated," Kaji stated. Another explosion went off, this one close enough to rock the floor under Shinji's feet.

"You don't say," he replied as he stuffed the magazines into one of his cargo pockets and drew his weapon. He tugged the slide back and examined the weapon's innards before letting it snap shut around the first round.

"I don't want you to go into that country," Kaji stated.

"I've been in war zones before," Shinji commented. He de-cocked the weapon, put it on safe, and holstered it again.

"You knew those would be war zones," Kaji stated. "You need time to get new equipment and we need better Intel."

"I can't argue there," Shinji stated as he sat down and pulled up the leg of his khaki trousers to check the MSP derringer he had been wearing there since he had arrived in this city. "More gear would be nice. I feel distinctly under gunned here." There was a fairly lengthy paused before Kaji spoke again.

"Where are you?"

"In the target city," Shinji stated. He stood up and pulled on his sports jacket and international press pass. "I told you, I'm all over this." He pulled on his gloves and sunglasses as he started towards the door. He needed to get out of the hotel before the loyalist troops tried to evacuate him. It wasn't that he couldn't deal with them; it was just that he didn't have enough ammo. Shinji was a staunch martialist. He never got into a fight where he didn't have the upper hand.

"You didn't set the coup off, did you?" Shinji paused and thought about that one.

"Not this time," he replied after a moment. "I am good enough to sneak in without starting a damn war every time."

"You don't have the equipment for this," Kaji stated.

"I have all the equipment I need," Shinji argued. "I just don't have the equipment I need to make this easy." He pulled his door open and peaked out into the hallway. It was completely empty. "Besides, I have a way in."

"How long have you been in the city?" Kaji asked.

"About eight days," Shinji replied as he walked to the fire escape and pushed the door open. He stepped out onto the rickety metal construct and quickly rolled up his jacket's sleeves. Why did he always get deployed so damned close to the equator? The heat was unbearable.

"Eight days and you have a way in?" Kaji asked. "That's fast."

"I was taught by the best," Shinji replied truthfully as he slid down the ladder. He dropped to the ground and disappeared into an alleyway. "Listen, I have to go."

"Alright," Kaji replied. "When you get out of there, we've got something new to talk about." Shinji paused. Kaji usually wasn't so coy. It intrigued him.

"What kind of something new?"

"The kind we can't talk about over the phone," Kaji stated. Shinji frowned.

"Now I'm curious."

"Deal with it," Kaji replied. "Oh, and what's the name of this way in?"

"Her name is Allesa. She's a secretary in the archive building. She has amazing green eyes."

"I have taught you well." Kaji hung up and Shinji smirked. He dug his cell phone out and punched the power button. It just wouldn't do to be interrupted on the job. He was much too professional for that.

(:ii:)

Shinji glanced out of his alleyway and frowned. He had been hoping the fighting wouldn't have reached here yet. Instead of being peaceful, the street was full of ruined vehicles and other signs of war. Thankfully the fighting had apparently moved on.

Shinji sprinted across the street and into the reception area of the archive building. He closed the glass door quietly and looked around. There were bullet holes in the walls and decorative columns. "Damn it."

"Is someone there?" Shinji whipped around, his PB in his hand almost before he had even comprehended that there was someone else in the room.

"Who's there?"

"Please, I've been shot." Shinji considered the voice.

"Allesa?"

"Michael?" Shinji peaked over the large receptionist desk. His way in was sprawled on the other side with a hand clamped over her bloodied blouse.

"Oh God." Shinji discreetly holstered his pistol and clambered over the desk.

"Thank God," Allesa gasped. "Soldiers just burst through the door and began firing. . ."

"It's okay," Shinji interrupted soothingly. He gently pulled Allesa's hand from her side and inspected the wound. The blood leaking from it slowly was almost black. "It's okay. We're going to find you help." Allesa smiled dopily up at him. How long had she been laying here loosing blood?

"I kept praying you'd find me," she whispered.

"And I did," Shinji replied kindly as he hugged her to him. He glanced around. How much longer would he have to wait? She had been willing to help, so he didn't want to just leave her. "You're going to be fine. I promise."

"I love you, Michael," she stated. Her voice was so soft he had to lean forward to hear her. Shinji smiled down at her.

"I love you too." She smiled and seemed to fade, her amazing green eyes going dull. Shinji checked her pulse and lowered her to the ground. "Shit." Now this job had just gotten complicated. "Good for you, babe. You got to die thinking I loved you. I, on the other hand, get to wander around this fucking building looking for the hidden vault. Yay for me. God damn it."

"Freeze!" Shinji froze. He had let his guard down. "Stand up slowly and put your hands in the air." Shinji stood slowly and raised his arms. He turned to the man and noted, with relief, that the soldier lacked the red armband of the rebel forces. "I didn't tell you to turn around!" the young soldier snapped.

"Please," Shinji pleaded. Had the soldier overheard him? If so, he was fucked. "My wife is hurt. I need to find her help." The soldier shot a quick glance at Allesa and than his eyes swept over Shinji's press pass. "She's going to die!" The muzzle of the weapon lowered a hair.

"I have some training," the soldier stated. "I'll see what. . ." Shinji was across the table between them in a heart beat. He trapped the assault rifle's muzzle under his right arm, the weapon pointing harmlessly behind him, and wrapped his left arm around the soldier's neck to pull his close. The five-inch stiletto didn't make a sound as it slipped out of its sheath and it was equally silent when Shinji stuck it into the man's chest, the slender blade slipping between his ribs and into his heart.

"Sorry pal." Shinji let the soldier go and he dropped without a twitch. "I'm too busy to play along with the good guys." Shinji wiped the blade clean and slipped it back into the sheath clipped to the inside of his jacket. He took the soldier's rifle and slung it over his own shoulder. It looked bad and would hurt his cover as a reporter, but being covered in blood would do the same. "Guess I know how I have to deal with everyone else I run into." Shinji tucked his press pass into his pocket and began looking around for a map. "What a pain in the ass."

(:ii:)

Kaji leaned heavily on his cane and watched as the old Red Cross plane's rear cargo ramp dropped. The evacuated foreigners poured out to meet the waiting crowd with a cheer as the news cameras rolled. Kaji spotted the man he was looking for rather easily. He just moved different than the others. "There he is."

"Where?"

"Right there," Kaji stating, pointing his protégé out to his boss. Janet Goldman squinted at the mass of humanity and her jaw dropped.

"Oh my God. What is he wearing?" Kaji stared at the younger man's outfit and wondered that himself. Shinji was wearing heavily worn and ripped jeans, a Save the Whales T-shirt and sandals.

"I have no idea." Shinji caught his eye and began cutting his way through the crowd towards them.

"Oh damn. He looks pretty bad. Maybe we should pass the job to Jean-Luc," Janet stated.

"He does look pretty bad," Kaji agreed. Shinji's left arm was in a sling and there was a large white bandage taped over his left cheek. "We don't have the time to drive back to the office and get him." Shinji stepped up to them and Kaji grinned. "Hey Shinji."

"Hello," Shinji returned. He eyed Janet, one eyebrow rising slightly. "Hello ma'am. What are you doing here?"

"I was planning on giving you the brief on your next mission," Janet replied. "In light of your injuries, maybe you should reconsider."

"My injuries aren't that bad," Shinji replied. He reached into his sling and withdrew his hand just enough to show the butt of a pistol.

"Oh."

"Let's continue this in the car," Shinji stated. Kaji nodded and turned to lead the way.

"I like the outfit," he commented offhandedly.

"Shut up," Shinji ordered. Kaji chuckled as he led them to the airport's parking lot and reached into his pocket for his keys. He thumbed the remote and climbed into his nice, plain company car. "Why did you come here for the briefing?" Shinji asked as he climbed into the back.

"If you really want this job, we don't even have time to go back to the office," Janet stated. "We grabbed your bag for you. It's in the trunk."

"Thanks," Shinji replied. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to catch the UNS Argyle before she departs tomorrow for Japan," Janet stated.

"The super carrier?" Shinji asked. "Won't it be quicker to fly? The Argyle is too big for the Suez or the Panama. It'd have to circumnavigate."

"The carrier is the mission," Janet stated. "At least, it's the first part of the mission. You'll be a bodyguard on the way over and an investigator once you get there."

"Who am I investigating?" Shinji asked.

"NERV," Kaji stated. "The UN thinks that it's corrupt. Imagine that."

"Do I have any limitations?" Shinji asked. Kaji wasn't sure if the eagerness in the younger man's voice was a good thing.

"Just get the information the UN wants," Janet stated. "This is an open mission, no cover story. You're just plain old Shinji Ikari from plain old Lupo Cattivo, Limited."

"There's nothing plain or old about me," Shinji commented, "unlike a certain old spy."

"You don't get to be an old spy without being damned good," Kaji shot back.

"Is that permission to use lethal force?" Shinji asked, turning back to Janet.

"Just get the information," Janet repeated. Kaji shot a look in his rearview mirror and frowned when he saw Shinji's grin. "And try not to start a war."

"That wasn't me!" Shinji exclaimed. He scratched his chin and thought for a moment before adding, "at least not this time."

"And one more thing Ikari."

"Yes?"

"Burn that outfit."

"Yes ma'am."

-End

(:ii:)

-Author's notes. I do believe this may be my first ever prologue. I've had this idea for a long time. What would Shinji be like if he had spent more time with Kaji. Note, this is a post-series, not an AU. Shinji is the new Kaji. This is going to be fun.